New Pack, New Threat, New Start
by LacytheSilverWolf
Summary: Their world seemed to be falling apart. Their father was attacked, their best friend kicked them from the pack and their new threat is getting more and more dangerous as time passes. But as bleak as things look, their alpha is home and now that their pack is back together, they can face anything. Derek/OC
1. The Last Chimera

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Lacy here with our next Effie story! Welcome to season 5b, otherwise known as _New Threat, New Pack, New Start_. When we left Effie, she and Stiles had just found John, who had been attacked by another chimera. Derek was on his way home and Scott had kicked the twins from his pack. That's fine, Derek's their alpha, anyway. For those who've been waiting, Derek is finally back, in the flesh, right from the start. Read on, kids!

Disclaimer: I own Effie.

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~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

If there was one thing Effie hated, it was hospitals. She and Stiles had lost entirely too much in these places and now, it looked like it was going to take one more. They sat quietly in the waiting room, tears streaking their faces, as their father laid in surgery, fighting for his life.

Effie was as curled up in her chair as she could be while Stiles continued to fidget beside her. That was the one way they were always different. When upset or stressed, Effie went completely still while Stiles couldn't be still if his life depended on it.

Tipping her head forward onto her knees, Effie kept checking the bond that tied her to her father. Kept feeling along it to make sure his heart was still steady and his breathing was as normal as it could be under sedation.

"I'm looking for Stiles and Effie Stilinski."

The twins jerked their heads up, eyes widening at the familiar, but long missed, voice that filled their ears. Moving from the waiting room, they saw the one person they desperately needed at the nurse's desk.

"Derek."

Derek Hale turned from the nurse he'd been talking to and sagged in relief as he took in Stiles and Effie. Without a word, he darted forward and pulled both twins into a tight hug, which they eagerly returned.

"It's gonna be okay," he whispered as they shook with sobs against him. "I'm right here and I'm not leaving."

Stiles pulled back first, letting Derek tuck Effie closer. He knew his sister needed the constant contact with her mate after so long apart.

"Missed you, Sourwolf." Stiles teased as he wiped his face.

Derek chuckled with an eye roll. "Yeah, you too, Stiles." he kissed Effie's head. "Let's go to the waiting room. You can catch me up on what I missed while traveling."

Stiles gave a soft snort. "How's your hold on your anger?"

Derek cocked a brow. "Get the feeling it's not good enough."

"Probably not." the twins chorused.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Head resting on Derek's chest, Effie focused on the vibrations of his voice as he and Stiles talked about all that had been going on.

 _'Why didn't I see this?'_ Effie thought to herself. _'Why didn't I draw this out? Why couldn't I save Dad?'_

"Stop it." Derek said, looking down at her. He saw her surprise. "You're blaming yourself for not seeing this coming. For not being able to protect John."

Effie sniffled. "It's the second time someone I care about has been attacked and I didn't have any vision or feeling about it."

"That doesn't make it your fault." Derek pressed. "The druid in South America warned you that you would never have complete control over that part of your powers. Some things can be forewarned, others can't. It's just how the power works."

"Well, I hate it." Effie huffed, not caring that she sounded five.

Stiles let out a weak laugh. "Haven't heard that tone in about ten years."

"What happened with Scott?" Derek asked after they lapsed into silence.

Stiles hesitated at Effie's growl. "Knock it off, Ef." he looked at Derek. "Theo told him what happened. Or at least, a version of it that made me look like a cold blooded killer. Scott wouldn't believe me when I told him the truth, that Donovan was going to kill Effie and Dad, and told me not to worry about the pack. Then walked away."

"Well," Derek sighed. "I understand where Scott's coming from. But," he pressed as Effie went tense in his arms and Stiles stared at him in disbelief. "at the same time, he should know better then to take the word of someone he doesn't really know over two people who have been by his side his entire life. I don't care what this Theo guy said, something like this, Scott knows you better than that, Stiles."

Stiles gave a half hearted shrug. "Yeah, I thought he did."

Derek could feel the drain coming from the two Stilinskis. "First thing's first, you two need rest. I'll wake you as soon as I hear Melissa coming."

Even if they wanted to stay awake, the two knew they couldn't go without sleep. So they listened to Derek and settled down. Stiles leaned on his fist, body angled towards Effie and Derek, while Effie tucked herself closer to her mate and let the sounds of her brother and boyfriend lull her to sleep.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

John was okay. And then he wasn't. Effie didn't understand it. Neither did Stiles or Derek. The three stood helplessly around John's bed as they watched him struggle for breath through the oxygen mask he'd been given. Both Effie and Derek had hands on the sheriff, pulling as much pain as they could. Effie even tried to heal him, but it was like something was fighting against her.

"Guys," Melissa stuck her head in the room. "Dr. Geyer wants a word." she saw Effie reach for Derek's hand. "I explained that you're all family."

Derek gave a small smile. "Thank you, Melissa."

Melissa nodded as the three followed her out. Geyer, also known as Liam's father, was waiting for them, a grave expression on his face.

"Two hours ago, he was fine." Stiles said. "Now it looks like someone took a baseball bat to his neck."

"There could have been some minor internal bleeding." Geyer tried to explain.

"Did you say minor internal?" Stiles questioned. "Since when is anything internal minor? I need to know what's going on here. Okay? Okay? Someone needs to tell me what is happening. Someone needs to tell me what's happening to him!"

Derek put a steadying hand on Stiles's shoulder while Melissa finally caved.

"We don't know." she said.

Effie saw Stiles's eye catch something and turned. Her breathing grew shallow as she saw Scott on the other side of the double doors, staring into their father's room.

"Ef, no." Derek grabbed her around the waist. But he missed Stiles. "Stiles! Stop!" Derek struggled to hold Effie back as Stiles tore through the doors and slammed Scott first into the wall and then the floor. "Stiles!"

"Where were you?" Stiles demanded of the true alpha. "You trusted him? You believed him, right? Huh? So where we you?! Where the hell were you?!"

"Stop it!" Melissa helped Geyer pull Stiles off Scott. Derek came forward, arm tight around Effie and took the other Stilinski from the doctor with a firm nod. Once Stiles let Derek know he was calm, they all looked back at Scott.

"Look," he said. "your dad's not the only one who got hurt."

Effie rolled her eyes. "Oh, you'll heal."

Scott pulled his jacket over the blood stain on his front. "I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about Lydia."

Derek felt the spike in the twins' heart beats at Scott's words. "Stiles, go. Make sure she's taken care of. I'll cool Effie down."

Stiles nodded and kissed his sister's forehead before heading for the elevator with Melissa.

"There's, uh," Geyer cleared his throat. "there's an empty room just around the corner. You can take her in there."

"Thank you," Derek nodded. "come get us if anything changes, please."

"You have my word." Geyer promised.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Effie panted heavily as she paced the empty patient room. Derek stood back by the door, letting her slash and claw at anything she needed, making a mental list of all that would need replacing so Liam's father didn't get in trouble. He knew everything Effie hit, everything she tore apart, she was seeing Scott in her head. And he couldn't blame her.

Instead of listening to his pack, listening to those he'd known for years, Scott listened to a stranger and the price might very well be John, the last family Effie and Stiles had. Effie was entitled to her anger. Stiles was entitled to screaming in Scott's face while pinning him to the ground. But later, after they figured out how to save their father.

Derek focused back in on his mate as Effie let out a sob and fell to her knees. He was by her side in seconds, cradling her against his chest as she cried.

"We can't lose him, Derek." Effie whimpered. "It'll break us."

"Shh," Derek kissed her head. "you're not going to lose him, Ef. We'll figure this out and, if worse comes to worse, I'll turn him." he pulled back, meeting Effie's eyes. "You will not lose your father."

Effie sniffed softly and nodded before tucking her head under Derek's chin. The two just sat there, for minutes or hours, they didn't know. But after so long apart, and so many things going wrong, they needed it.

"Effie, Derek," Melissa appeared again. She looked around the room, eyes wide.

"I'll pay for it." Derek offered.

Melissa snorted. "Damn straight you will." she jerked her head towards the hall. "We have a plan."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

The only thing Effie wanted to do to Theo was finish what she and Stiles had started in the impound lot. But the bastard had information they needed and Effie would be damned if he died without giving it up.

Stiles, Effie, Derek, and a hidden Scott, were waiting at the Stilinski house when Theo arrived. The chimera took one look at the mountain ash line across the entrance and smirked as he stepped over it.

"Don't look so impressed with yourself." Effie said. "I can do that without being a twisted abomination."

Theo chuckled. "Sassy as ever, Effie." he caught sight of Derek, looming to the left of the stairs where the twins sat. "Derek Hale. Should have known Effie would go crying to her mate."

Derek gave a dark grin. "Be happy we need information from you, or I'd gut you where you're standing."

"That might be harder than you think."

"I'm always up for a challenge."

Stiles tossed Scott's bloody shirt at Theo. "So, you killed my best friend?"

Theo looked the shirt over. "Let's be honest, Stiles. Was he still really your best friend?"

"You gonna let my father die?" Stiles asked.

"If I wanted him to die," Theo said. "I wouldn't have told you where you could find him." He tossed the shirt aside.

"Then why are they saying his body is shutting down?" Stiles questioned as he stood up. "That some toxin is poisoning him? And they don't know how to stop it?"

"I'm not the bad guy, Stiles." Theo avoided answering. But Effie heard the jump in his heart. Knew Derek heard it and that Scott heard it. "I'm just a realist. I'm a survivor. If you knew the things that I know-"

"Yeah, what do you know?" Effie stopped him, moving to stand beside her brother.

"I know what's coming." Theo said. "I know what the Dread Doctors created and I know what Parrish is. Lydia figured it out, I saw it in her memories."

"Right after you drove her out of her mind." Stiles pointed out.

Theo almost smirked again. "Collateral damage. But if she's right about Parrish, then things around here are gonna get a lot worse."

Stiles shook his head. "I don't care."

"You should." Theo pressed. "Because if your dad does survive, he's not gonna be sheriff of anything much longer."

"What's happening to him?" Stiles asked. Theo turned to leave and Stiles darted forward. "Hey! Tell me!"

Before Derek or Effie could stop him, Theo shoved Stiles back into the stairs, leaving the older twin dazed and blacked out. The two dropped to Stiles's aid as Theo ran from the house and Scott came charging down the stairs.

"Stiles," Effie slapped his cheek. "Stiles, wake up."

"Is he okay?" Scott asked.

"Back off." Effie growled.

Scott started, clearly not expecting Effie's anger. "Hey, I'm just-"

"Scott." Derek's voice was neutral. "Do what she says. Back off."

"What are you even doing here?" Scott asked as Effie refocused on her brother.

"I came to help my pack." Derek said. "They were struggling because the local alpha wasn't listening and didn't believe them. They needed me."

Scott frowned. "Are you saying, they're not my pack?"

"You tell me." Derek volleyed back. He saw Stiles was coming around and helped him up. "You good?"

"I'm okay." Stiles confirmed, patting Derek's shoulder. "Did you guys get anything?"

"Steady as a rock." Effie said. "Minus one blip when we mentioned Dad being poisoned."

"That could be something." Stiles said. "A jump could mean surprise, right?"

Derek nodded. "Yeah, definitely."

"Okay, so why would be he surprised that Dad's still dying?" Stiles asked.

"Oh, wait." Scott said. "He didn't say that he was the one who attacked your dad, did he?"

Stiles shook his head. "No. No, which means it was probably someone else."

"Another chimera." Derek sighed.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Working with Scott was leaving a bad taste in Effie's mouth. And she could tell from the look on Stiles's face that he wasn't dealing much better. But Derek had reminded them that, until they knew how to save the sheriff, they needed all the help they could get. Which also included Malia, who decided to reappear from wherever she'd gone.

The three reluctantly followed Scott and Malia through old rail tracks and underground into what looked like the sewer system of the town. Or maybe the water pipes. Effie couldn't tell, there were too many smells.

"This is Noah's." Malia said once they found traces of blood. "He was here. I think he's close."

Both Effie and Derek moved around, noses in the air.

"Guys," Scott spoke. "I think we've been down tunnels like this before. Like when we were looking for Liam and Hayden."

"Okay, so what?" Stiles asked.

"Maybe it means that we're closer than we think." Scott suggested. "Maybe there's something else down here. Something that we haven't found yet."

"Yeah, nothing that helps my dad." Stiles said. "Look, we can't just be standing around here, waiting for something-"

"Stiles!" Effie and Derek shouted as something, someone, came out of nowhere and knocked him to the ground. Derek ran to help Malia with the person while Effie knelt in front of her brother.

"Sti," Effie gripped the hand he raised. "Sti, come on, come back." Stiles finally returned the grip and let Effie pull him up.

"You okay?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Stiles said. Growling caused the three to turn. They watched Malia and Derek pin the person, Noah as it turned out, to the ground.

"Let me go, please." Noah pleaded. "They're coming!"

They all turned towards the hall, hearing the sounds of footsteps and weird machinery. The Dread Doctors were coming.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Malia released Noah, but Derek grabbed him again, pinning him to the wall.

"You're not going anywhere." the Hale said.

"I said I don't remember." Noah repeated.

"You don't remember anything?" Derek questioned.

"No." Noah insisted. "Not when it happens. Not when I change."

"You mauled the sheriff half to death." Derek informed him. "And now it's poisoning him. You need to start remembering every detail. Right now."

"Scott," Malia spoke, her voice shaking slightly. "I hear them."

"Yeah, I do too. Hey, Stiles, get him out of here. Go to the hospital. Figure out a way to save your dad."

Stiles grabbed Effie's arm, pulling her towards Derek. "You too, Ef. No way they're getting their hands on you."

Derek looked away from Noah, letting Stiles take him. "What? Why would they want Effie?"

The younger twin cringed. She forgot to tell him that part. "Later. Help Malia and Scott. We gotta get Noah out of here."

"Stiles," Scott spoke again. "Go."

The twins exchanged looks with Derek and Scott before grabbing Noah and vanishing down a side tunnel. Derek moved to stand between his cousin and Scott, claws already out.

"Why do they want Effie?" Derek asked.

"She's already a chimera." Malia explained. "A druid and a fox. And her body survived. She's perfect for them."

Derek let out a low growl. "Not while I'm around."

Scott looked at them as the Doctors appeared. "We're gonna be okay."

"Scott," Malia didn't look convinced. "we're gonna die down here."

"No, we're not."

The two looked at him. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because Malia isn't the only one that I called."

"Get down."

The three turned and there was Chris Argent, gun in hand, ready to fight.

"Derek," Chris got off his first shot. "follow Effie and Stiles. They need you."

Derek nodded, ducking passed the armed man. "Welcome home."

Chris snorted. "No place like it."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Watching Noah break apart of the chain holding their way out closed turned out to be the answer to what was happening to John. When Noah attacked him, part of the bones that were his change broke off and stuck inside the sheriff. He was being poisoned by bone marrow. Once Melissa knew that, it was just a matter of getting Geyer to go back in and removed it.

Once more, Derek, Effie and Stiles were circled around John's bed. The twins were sound asleep, Stiles resting his head and arms next to John's leg while Effie had a hand stretched out to hold John's hand. Derek had Effie curled up in his lap, watching the monitor that showed John's vitals, needing the sight of his returning health, as well as hearing and smelling him getting better.

Seeing John move out of the corner of his eye, Derek turned and smiled as he watched the sheriff reach out to stroke Stiles's arm and squeeze Effie's hand. The two woke quickly, their eyes fixed on their father.

"It's okay," he whispered. "You still got me."

Stiles exhaled in relief, taking John's hand while Effie let out a laughing sob, tucking her head against Derek's neck. A smile spread across Derek's face as he moved his free hand to pat John's leg.

They were okay, they still had each other.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

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Effie's tolerance for anyone who isn't her father, brother or Derek is like gone. Well, okay, it's mainly gone for Scott and Theo. And working with Scott is not going to sit well with Effie, at all. But the packs will be playing nice. After all, the enemy of my enemy and all that. Gotta focus on taking Theo out, then they can go back to fighting each other. Kinda. Anyway, let me know what you think, flame policy, located at the bottom of my profile, always remains standing and thanks so much for reading!

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	2. Damnatio Memoriae

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Lacy here with our next Effie chapter. We're got to work with Theo in this chapter. And isn't that just a load of fun. And more working with Scott, but the two packs finally come to an understanding. So, there's that. Read on!

Disclaimer: I own only Effie.

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~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

"You should have told me."

Effie set her sketchbook down. "I know. But when Dad figured it out, Stiles and I were so wound up about Theo threatening to tell Scott and everything with the bodies and," she sighed. "I didn't want to worry you even more."

"Ef," Derek knelt in front of her. They were alone in John's hospital room, as father and son were having a heart to heart in the morgue. The real truth of Donovan had come to light. "I'm your mate. I'm always going to be worried about you, even if it's just in the back of my mind. And you're the same. That's why you were subconsciously keeping tabs on me while I was with Cora. Not to mention, I'm the alpha. I need to know about all threats against my pack."

"I'm sorry." Effie whispered. She traced her finger around Derek's hand on her knee. "I was so relaxed and happy when I got home, even if we were separated. I knew it wasn't forever. And then everything got so messed up so fast. Theo. The chimeras. Dad pointing out I was a possible target was just not something I needed."

"You can't help who you are." Derek said. "And you can't ignore it."

Effie nodded. "I know," she sniffed and grabbed her sketch book. "Speaking of, I drew something new. And it might be more terrifying than the Doctors."

"That's very hard to believe." Derek commented as he took the book. One look at the giant monster Effie had drawn and he agreed, it was more terrifying than the Doctors. "This should be interesting." he looked up at Effie. "And not in a good way."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Effie leaned over Stiles's shoulder as he easily got into their father's computer. Said father was in his bed, beside them, slowly waking up.

"Derek checked out the body." Effie spoke softly. "The smell left behind wasn't the same as the other chimeras."

"That's just great." Stiles muttered. "He have any idea why?"

Effie shook her head. "No, but he's going through some old family books in the vault, see if Aunt Talia knew anything or had anything that could help."

Stiles rubbed his brow. "Really wishing she was here, right now."

"Me too."

John, who'd woken and ignored his children in favor of getting a drink of water, finally turned to them.

"Is that my laptop?" John asked.

"Yep." The two answered without looking away from the screen.

"Do you have my password?"

"We have all your passwords." Stiles answered. "You know they just brought in another body from last night?"

"Yeah," John shifted towards them. "I was hoping you wouldn't find out. Now give me my damn computer."

"I think there's something missing in your head." John snarked. He tried to reach around Effie.

"You need your rest." Stiles insisted. Effie saw the video footage and grabbed her sketch book.

"Sti," Effie held up her drawing. "pause it." Stiles did as he was told. They looked between the creature on the footage and the one Effie drew. "This is it. This is what the Doctors created."

"And how do we fight it?" Stiles asked.

Effie shook her head again. "I have no idea."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Having left Derek to watch over the sheriff, which left the older man actually pouting at his children as they left, Stiles and Effie let themselves into the McCall house and up to the True Alpha's room, where Effie could hear and smell him.

"He's still wounded." Effie commented as they went. They entered Scott's room and found the shifter in his bathroom, cleaning up deep gouges left from Theo. "I can try and heal that."

Scott turned, surprised. "Why?"

"You shouldn't be walking around like that." Effie stated, stepping forward. "Not with what we have going on."

"What are you guys doing here?" Scott asked as Effie set her hand over the wound.

"You heard about the guy who got killed out at the communication towers, right?" Stiles asked. Scott gave a nod as Effie stepped back. His chest was healed, at least it had stopped bleeding and started the scab over, and she handed him his shirt. "I think we might have figured something out."

"And you want my help?" Scott asked, needing to know.

"Yeah, well," Stiles looked down for a moment. "you said you can find the clues that I can't."

"What about Effie?"

Effie crossed her arms, clearing her throat. "Even I know we need to work together on this." she nodded to Stiles's phone. "Take a look."

Stiles brought up the footage. "This is when the technician first arrived. You see him going in? Then Deputy Clark goes in. Then something really big and really fast comes charging out. Now comes Clark. Eventually, technician's body is carried out by paramedics."

"Okay," Scott said as Stiles put his phone away. "What am I missing?"

"Two people go in. Three come out." Effie pointed out. "We checked all the footage. Not a single person enters that building before the technician the entire day."

"So," Stiles picked up. "where does that something really big and really fast come from?"

Scott took a moment before answering. "There's another way in." he looked at the twins. "Where's Derek?"

"With Dad." Effie answered. "He wants to make sure the injured pack member is safe. Like-"

"Like a real wolf would do." Scott finished. "Good. I'm glad someone's watching him."

Stiles smirked some. "He's not."

"Too bad." Effie and Scott chorused.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Effie clutched her sketchbook as she, Stiles and Scott made their way through the communication tower where the technician was killed. They all hoped something would trigger her visions and give them a new clue about the last chimera. They'd called Derek to let them know what they were planning. He said he'd join them as soon as Parrish showed up to take over watching John, who loudly protested being babysat.

"You see that?" Stiles asked, his flashlight on the blood path.

"I see blood." Scott said.

Effie rolled her eyes. "Look where it leads to." A sewer grate appeared to be torn open.

Scott moved to the locker that was partially covering the hole and started trying to lift it. Effie and Stiles shared concerned looks when it was clear that Scott didn't have the strength he once did. An alpha without a pack wasn't as strong as one with. Stiles handed his light to Effie and moved to help Scott. It took a few moments, but the two managed to get it up right and revealed the entire grate, which was, as they thought, torn apart.

"Down into the underbelly." Effie muttered. "Why am I not surprised?"

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

 _'Damnatio Memoriae'_

Effie sketched the words into her book right before Stiles flashed his UV light where they were written on the ground.

"Hold up that light." Scott said. "I'm gonna get a picture of it."

Effie whipped around just in time to see Tracy, who brought up her claws across the back of Stiles's neck and the side of Effie's. Both siblings stumbled, grunting in pain and hitting the ground. Hard.

Effie wanted to shift, having landed on her sketchbook, but she didn't get the chance as Tracy took a swipe at Scott and the two started fighting.

"Scott, behind you!" Stiles called out as Josh came running up the other path, electricity sparking from his claws. Effie could feel her druid side fighting the paralytic effect of Tracy's kanima venom and flexed the magic working its way to her fingers.

Scott grabbed Tracy's attacking claws and dug them into Josh's chest, dropping the boy while snapping Tracy's wrist.

"Sucks," Stiles commented to Josh as he landed beside the twins. "doesn't it?"

Effie watched Scott turn, growling low in warning towards the pipes. Corey appeared, having made himself invisible against the wall. Scott snarled at him and Effie echoed it as she pushed to her feet, unsteady but much more in control.

"Okay!" Theo's voice echoed in the tunnels. He appeared by the writing. "Maybe they're not ready to take on an alpha." he looked at Corey. "Especially one that can smell fear."

"He's got fangs!" the chameleon boy insisted.

Tracy and Corey, at Theo's silent command, moved to pick up Josh. Effie crouched over her brother, a low growl leaving her throat as they came closer. Corey, wisely, looked afraid. Tracy was less smart and tried bearing her own fangs. Effie easily caught her by the throat.

"Don't even try." Effie threatened. "You touched my brother. You're lucky to still be breathing."

"Effie." Derek appeared down the hall, his eyes red. "Let her go. Focus on Stiles."

Not wanting to listen, but knowing Derek was right, Effie shoved Tracy away and knelt beside her brother.

"What did you do?" Scott asked Theo as Derek stopped beside him.

"I found some new friends." Theo said casually. "I don't take rejection well." he stepped down, looking at Stiles.

"Hey Theo," the paralyzed boy said.

"Stiles," Theo acknowledged him. He looked at the writing that Stiles's UV light was still showing and quickly stopped his foot on it, shattering the ground and erasing the words. "You're gonna leave here thinking that you need to worry about me." he moved around the four, drawing Derek and Scott closer to Effie and Stiles. "But you're wrong. We're actually back on the same side. Because that thing, that's what we need to worry about. Your pack and mine." he glanced at Derek. "Well, your packs and mine. We're gonna go back to school and pretend like we're normal teenagers, but at night, we're going to be fighting for our lives."

"What is it?" Stiles asked.

"It's not a chimera." Theo answered.

"But it's just a kid underneath." Scott said. "Someone like us."

"Not anymore."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Derek helped Scott sit Stiles up while Effie moved and grabbed her sketch book, making sure the words were still there.

"He knew what it meant," Scott said. "And I can't remember the words."

"Damnatio Memoriae." Stiles and Effie said.

"It means the condemnation of memory." Derek took over.

"I think it also means," Stiles said. "that whatever the Dread Doctors created, whatever this last chimera really is, it's not something new. It's something old. Really old."

"So they didn't create a new creature." Scott said.

"They resurrected one." Effie finished.

Derek looked between the three teens. "We need to work together on this. Whether we work with Theo or not, our two packs need to find common ground."

"Are we really two packs?" Scott asked.

"The moment you walked away from Stiles and I outside Deaton's," Effie said. "I felt our bond sever. And it hasn't come back."

Stiles sighed. "And even before that, Derek's always been our alpha, Scott. Effie and I both agree on that. We're by your side because you're our friend, you're family. But we've been Derek's pack since before we knew that all this was more than bedtime stories." he saw the flicker of pain in Scott's eyes. "I'm sorry."

Scott shook his head. "No, don't be sorry. Not for this. I'm glad you guys have an alpha you can count on." he looked at Derek. "And I'd be glad to have your pack's help."

Derek nodded. "You got it."

Scott reached down to the dirt covered ground and drew the center circle of his pack symbol. "We need more help. If Theo's got his own pack now then I need mine. We have to get the others back."

"The others?" Stiles questioned. "You mean Kira who's currently battling a homicidal fox spirit inside her, Malia who isn't even speaking to either one of us, Lydia who's stuck in Eichen House, and Liam who almost killed you?"

"Also known as our best friends." Scott pointed out.

"Okay," Effie said. "How?"

"One by one." Scott answered. He looked back at the circle than at Stiles.

"You're not seriously gonna make me do it?" Stiles questioned.

"You're part of the pack, right? Even if it's just for now?"

"Okay." Stiles reached out with a shaky hand and drew the second circle of Scott's symbol. Then he drew the first swirl of Derek's interlocking with the circles. Effie then drew the second and Derek drew the third. The four looked at each other, feeling a bit more connected than they had been before.

"We need to find Kira." Scott decided.

Knowing they needed to get moving, Effie stood first, standing back as Derek and Scott helped Stiles up, supporting him as they followed Effie down the tunnel.

"I still hate that tattoo." Stiles threw out.

"I know." Scott confirmed.

Derek and Effie laughed. Yeah, they'd be okay.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

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And there we have it. I actually drew out a combination of Derek's tat and Scott's. Just randomly and it gave me the idea for this scene. So, the packs are understanding, Theo's an ass and we're off to save Kira next week. Let me know what you think, flame policy stands and thanks for reading.

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	3. Codominance

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Lacy here with our next Effie chapter. We've got a road trip with Effie, Stiles and Scott. All those touching brotherly scenes with Scott and Stiles will stay between them. Most of Effie's scenes will take place within Roscoe. We get to see some pouting via texting from the Sheriff and Derek's take on it all. That was too much fun to write. And then we're off to rescue Kira. Read on, kids!

Disclaimer: I own only Effie.

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~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

The last thing Effie wanted was to leave her father in a town still running wild with Dread Doctors and Theo. However, he was going to be having Derek stand guard over him and that made her feel a little better to be leaving with Scott and Stiles to find Kira. Providing Stiles could get the jeep working, again. Even with Derek's help, it was looking a little iffy.

Watching the two work, Effie kept a half open ear on the conversation inside the house. Liam had come to see Scott, facing his alpha for the first time since he tried to kill him. Since he left him to be killed by Theo. And by Scott's clipped words and quick steps, it wasn't going well.

 _"Hayden's one of them."_ Liam's admission stopped Scott's footsteps.

 _"She's okay?"_ Scott questioned.

 _"She's alive. I'm not sure she's totally okay, but she's definitely alive."_

 _"That's good."_

 _"Where are you guys going?"_

 _"To get Kira. Her dad-"_

"Effie,"

Effie blinked, blocking the rest of the alpha and beta talking. Derek and Stiles were looking at her, concern floating over the pack bonds.

"You were leeching Liam's anxiety." Stiles informed her. "We could feel it."

Effie sighed. "Yeah, I've been doing that more since the supermoon. It's almost like I'm trying to clean up all the leftover emotions that it brought out."

Stiles shared a look with Derek. "That can't be healthy."

"Focus on the jeep." Effie said. "I'm fine."

"Really need to remove that word from your vocab." Derek quipped as Stiles handed him a wrench. He felt Effie reaching out to Liam again. "He'll be fine, Ef. I'll watch him, too."

Effie glanced back. "Out of curiosity, who's pack is he a part of?"

"Both." Derek answered easily, slapping Stiles's hand away. "Are you trying to make it worse?" he leaned on the jeep, turning to Effie. "Because we joined packs with Scott, he's part of ours and what's left of Scott's." he grabbed Stiles's hand without looking. "I'll take it off."

Stiles pulled his hand back. "I'm just trying to help."

"Help by finishing removing the duck tape from the parts we removed." Derek barked. "And never let me see you bring that crap near a vehicle again."

"Look-"

"Everything okay out here?" Scott asked, stopping Stiles's retort.

Effie sighed. "About as good as it ever is when these two try to work together."

Scott nodded. "So, complete disaster."

"Hey!"

Effie smirked. "Not complete."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

The only thing Derek hadn't managed to patch on Roscoe was the leak in the radiator. So not only was Effie baking in the back of the jeep, but she was surrounded by jugs and jugs of antifreeze. And a few gas canisters. Empty, sure, but yeah, she felt safe.

But she didn't focus on that, or she tried not to. Instead, she held her sketchbook in her lap and worked sketch after sketch of different faces and scenarios. There were lacrosse matches, members of both packs, three females who looked fierce and a bit wild. Effie had a feeling those were who Kira had been taken to. She drew Theo and his chimeras, a few of Parrish and John, even Lydia in Eichen House.

The last one she worked on, as Stiles and Scott ventured off to find gas for the broken down jeep, was of her and Derek in front of Allison's grave, laying down flowers. Effie hadn't been to see Allison since her funeral. It was like the first few years after her mother passed. All she could remember was the last moment she saw them or heard their voices and it was too much. There had to be a reason, she knew it, she just wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

Setting her sketch book to the side, Effie pulled out her phone. She had several texts from her father, whining about having a babysitter and wanting to know how to get Derek to stand down. Effie smirked and replied easily.

 _'As long as Theo is around, he won't.'_ she typed. _'And even if you could get him to, mate request trumps annoyed sheriff.'_

It took only moments for John to respond.

 _'I don't like you right now.'_

Effie laughed. _'I can live with that.'_ Ignoring the response of a sour faced emoji, and just who taught him to do that, she opened the messages from Derek.

 _'Liam got to school okay. But so did Theo.'_

 _'Your dad is glaring at me. It's worse than when you're angry.'_

 _'Is it cause he's a cop? I feel ready to confess and I don't know what I did wrong.'_

 _'Now he's pouting at his phone. What did you say?'_

 _'Never mind, he told me. I'm sneaking him coffee to win him over. Don't tell Stiles.'_

Effie shook her head and moved on to Liam.

 _'She's with him, Effie. What do I do? I promised I'd stay out of it, but it's so hard to watch her with him.'_

 _'And now we're lab partners. It's not my day.'_

 _'Hold on, Liam.'_ she told him. _'It'll get better, I promise. I don't know when, but it will.'_

Tossing her phone onto the seat, Effie leaned her head back. She was torn in two, wanting to help Scott get Kira back, but knowing she was needed back home. True, she was already with Scott and Stiles, which kind of left her with little choice about which path to take now, but she was still conflicted.

Before she could think more on it, she caught sight of Stiles and Scott coming back, full gas canister in hand and an easier air about them. She could tell, just by looking at them, they'd talked and were headed back towards more even ground with each other.

Good, Beacon Hills was going to need them on the same side if it wanted to survive. And now, now it stood a chance.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

It was Effie's turn to drive Roscoe and as much as she loved her brother's jeep, the damn thing was older than they were. And the stick shift stuck like no tomorrow. Blinking against the sleep in her eyes, Effie looked ahead and saw a strange sight; clouds and lightning surrounding a tall mountain in the distance. And it wasn't natural lightning, either.

"Hey, Stiles," she reached over and shook her brother. "Scott. Guys." The two woke, looking where Effie motioned. "Take a look at this."

They both leaned forward.

"What the hell do you think is happening to her out there?" Stiles asked.

Scott just shook his head, clearly as confused and concerned as they were. Effie took a deep breath and threw the jeep back into first. They needed to move faster.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Watching Scott and Stiles finally fix their friendship, or as fixed as it was going to get, gave Effie a good feeling. But it didn't restore the pack bond she once held with the True Alpha. Now that Stiles and Effie had openly admitted that Derek was their alpha, the druidfox was sure that bond would never return. And if it did, it wouldn't be what it once was.

But one thing that was what it needed to be, was finding Kira. Having seen and heard the flashing and clashing of swords at the base of the cloud and lightning covered mountain, the three knew they'd finally found their wayward Kitsune.

Knowing they'd have to be fast, Effie climbed into the trunk of the jeep and popped the back open. Scott stood crouched in the passenger seat, ready to jump the moment they stopped. Once Stiles skidded the jeep to a halt, Scott jumped and roared at the three women fighting Kira and her mother. Effie focused on the sand and used her powers to whip it up into a funnel, focusing it towards the three women.

"Get in!" Stiles called out. Scott and Kira ran for the jeep. Noshiko took a moment to slice a spear thrown through the sand in half before she joined the group of teens and jumped in. Stiles spun the jeep around and Effie used one last bit of magic to thrust the sand at the three women, blinding them as the jeep drove away.

Dropping back in exhaust, Effie looked at Scott and Kira and saw them kissing.

"Everyone okay?" Stiles asked.

Effie coughed. "Depends on your definition."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

"We know what Theo's doing." Mason informed him.

"He's looking for an alpha." Liam continued. "A blind alpha."

Derek and Scott exchanged looks. "Deucalion."

Effie tossed her pencil aside and shoved her sketchbook away. "This I should have seen coming."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

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The more this season goes on, the more Effie gets frustrated with her visions not showing what they need to. Not seeing Deucalion coming just isn't sitting well with her. She does reach her breaking point, but it takes time. For now, let me know what you think, flame policy stands and thanks for reading.

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	4. The Sword and the Spirit

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Lacy here with our next Effie chapter. Not a lot of action in this chapter, in fact, there's none. But there is a moment between Effie and Derek when she lets him know just how much she's struggling. And a visit to Eichen to see Lydia. Natalie doesn't have the control she thinks she does. Not even over her daughter. Read on!

Disclaimer: I own only Effie.

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~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Over and over, Effie drew Deucalion and a mass of dead bodies covered in insects. Over and over. It was all she seemed to be able to do. Pages and pages in her sketchbook were filled with the images from different angles and distances. It was getting to the point where she couldn't stop seeing them.

And then the call came in from John. Bodies had been found. Twenty-three bodies. Stiles, Effie and Derek grabbed Kira and Scott and took off for the hospital. They arrived to see the last of the bodies being wheeled into the morgue, hospital personnel lining the hall. John was standing at the end, leaning heavily on a cane, dressed in his uniform.

"Who found 'em?" Stiles asked.

John faced them. "Argent. And he said the Doctors were down there. He also said you guys might know what this thing is."

"We've got a theory." Scott admitted.

"It's a slightly terrifying theory." Stiles added.

John nodded once. "Well the ME said the victims were killed somewhere else and then dumped in those tunnels."

"Hey, what if the Dread Doctors are hiding the bodies?" Scott questioned.

"Why would they do that?" Kira asked.

"Maybe they're covering for it." Stiles guessed.

"Protecting it like a parent would." Derek finished.

"Protecting what?" John asked.

"A werewolf." Scott answered.

Kira looked at the sheriff. "It's called the Beast."

"We know." Effie said. "Horrifying."

"We better figure out what we're gonna call Parrish." John moved on. "Because it looks like his dream is coming true."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Watching deputies walk through the halls of the high school with loaded assault rifles, Effie felt uneasy. Something told her the secret of the supernatural wasn't going to stay secret for much longer. She had this sinking feeling that, in order to stop the Doctors and the Beast, the packs were going to have to reveal themselves to the entirety of the town. And given what blind hatred and fear had done to the Hales, she had a sinking feeling things were only going to get worse.

"You alright?" Kira stopped next to Effie. "Your claws are going through your notebook."

Effie looked down, seeing what Kira said was true. "I'm restless. There's so many unknown factors right now, I can't help but be afraid of every shadow and then there's this," she pulled out a sketch and showed it to Kira. It was a collage of Mason and the Beast.

"Wh-" Kira swallowed. "What does it mean?"

Effie shook her head. "I have no idea."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Effie leaned back on the couch in the loft, phone to her ear. "Unless you're taking Theo somewhere that looks just like a morgue, we're not coming."

"Effie-"

"I'm sorry, Braeden," Effie stopped the other woman. "But I will not work with that monster. Not after all he's done to the people I care about. If Malia wants to go through with this plan, she's doing it without us."

Braeden sighed. "Will you at least come if we need back up? If I call for help, can I count on you?"

Effie nodded. "Yeah, of course. Be careful, Braeden. He can't be trusted."

"Mmm, I'm already getting that vibe, myself. See you in a bit."

Hanging up, Effie tapped her phone on her knee before returning to the blueprints she had laid out on the coffee table. She heard Derek coming up behind her and held her hand out for the tea he'd been making.

"Everything okay with Malia and Braeden?" the alpha asked.

Effie sighed. "They're going to confront Malia's mother in hopes of getting Deaton back. Braeden wanted our help, but they're already working with Theo."

Derek snorted. "No way am I working with him."

"That's what I told Braeden." Effie confirmed. "But I did promise we'd come if she called."

Watching Effie, Derek noticed she looked tired. More so than usual. He put his hand on her arm and was shocked by the amount of pain he was able to pull from her.

"Ef-"

"It's emotional." Effie informed before Derek could question. "I don't know why, I don't know what's causing it, but it's getting crippling." she shook her head. "I don't sleep anymore unless you're with me. Not even with Dad and Stiles around. Nothing feels safe anymore unless you're at my side. And I couldn't put that on you. I couldn't lay that burden on you, not with everything else we're dealing with."

Derek didn't hesitate to pull Effie into his arms. He caught her mug of tea and set it aside, rocking her as she clung to him, shaking with tears she wouldn't let fall.

"Have you been letting your visions come naturally?" Derek asked softly. "Or have you been fighting them back until you can't fight off the drawing?" he felt Effie stiffen. "Effie, you were warned about this. Warned about suppressing the visions."

"I know, alright?" Effie shoved back from Derek, tucking herself into the corner opposite him. "I know. I remember every word the druid said to me. But I can't do it, Derek. I can't see or draw another person I care about dead or dying. Or, even worse, not see it at all. I can't do it anymore."

"Effie," Derek's understanding and heartbreak was clear in his tone. "You have to, you're the only one who can. I can't imagine how hard this is for you, I would think only Lydia can, but I do know no one else is strong enough. No one has the heart or drive to take these visions and feelings and insight and do something about them. Whether that's stopping them all together or just preparing the packs as best you can, only you can do it. I know it, deep down."

Effie looked at Derek, hearing his honesty in his heartbeat and let her tears fall. "I'm scared."

Derek reached out, cupping her cheek. "So am I. But we'll be scared together. And we'll get through it. Together."

Effie nuzzled Derek's hand. "Okay." she exhaled. "Can you get me my sketchbook?"

Derek smiled. "Of course."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Sitting with Stiles beside Lydia in Eichen House was probably the worst feeling in the world for Effie. She could feel her brother's heart breaking at the sight of the girl he'd loved for more years than he cared to admit. Even if he didn't love her romantically anymore, she was still one of the most important people in his life, along side Effie and John. Having her in such a state, vulnerable and helpless, it was destroying Stiles.

Stiles reached out, taking Lydia's hand. "Your teachers, uh, gave us some of the stuff you guys have been working on. They wanted us to hold on to it for you. I saw something about the, uh, Riemann Hypothesis. Um, things like, non trivial zeros, zeta functions and, uh, a lot of other stuff that goes totally over my head." he glanced back at Effie's giggle. "Ef tried to explain it, but I got cross eyed. Maybe you can wake up and help her explain it?" Silence fell as Stiles waited for Lydia to respond. Effie reached out and set her hand on his shoulder, squeezing. "Oh, come on, Lydia. You-you have to come back to us. There's no way we're getting through this without you. Lydia, you have to wake up."

"I think that's enough." Natalie said from the door, where she was watching over the twins' time with her daughter. Effie turned, a growl working its way up her throat. "Stiles."

Slowly, Stiles let go of Lydia's hand and started to turn away. Only to stop when he noticed something in Lydia's hair.

"Wait a second," he moved her hair aside and saw a bald patch. "What is this? What are they doing?"

"Alright, you need to go." Natalie moved into the room, intending to remove Stiles. Effie let her growl loose, stopping the older woman.

"They shaved her head." Stiles stated. "Look at it. Did you-did you know about this? What are they gonna do? Drill a hole into her head?"

"Are you crazy?" Natalie demanded. She pushed passed the twins, smoothing Lydia's hair over the spot. "It's for ECT. Electroconvulsive therapy. They shave small portions of the scalp. It's done under general anesthesia and it's perfectly safe. Look at her, Stiles. She's my daughter. You don't think I'm trying everything I can to bring her out of this?"

Stiles shook his head. "No, that's not ECT."

"Is everything alright in here?" A female orderly came into the room, her tone and posture setting Effie on edge.

"It's fine." Natalie assured. "Our guests were just leaving." Neither moved. "Stiles, Effie. Go. Or you're not coming back."

Stiles looked at Natalie in disbelief before turning to leave, reaching out for his sister. Effie let out another low growl, flashing her eyes, before taking Stiles's hand and following him out.

"This isn't over." Effie's words floated back. "Even if we have to use force, we won't let you hurt Lydia. Mother or not."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

It was happening. Standing around the kitchen island in Scott's house was the McCall pack and the Hale pack. It was finally happening. Pictures were laid out, blue prints as well and Liam added security logs. All for Eichen House.

"Now we get Lydia."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Begin Transmission

Effie really has no patience for people messing with her pack. Even if it's the person's parent. Natalie ignoring what's so obvious about her daughter does not sit well with her. At all. But now it's time to save Lydia. And isn't that an adventure. Let me know what you think, flame policy stands and thanks for reading!

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	5. Amplification

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Lacy here with our next Effie update. In this chapter, project Save Lydia is set into motion. But first, the Beast has some issues with the Beacon Memorial. Now, I hate hospitals, especially the one that nearly killed both my grandparents, but this is just overkill. We're gonna see a bit more of Effie's control and powers and a show of just how much Mountain Ash really doesn't stand a chance against her. Remember, powers of a shifter, perks of a druid. Read on!

Disclaimer: I own only Effie.

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~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

When the call came in over the radio from Stiles that the Beast was headed for Beacon Memorial, Effie and Derek were already there, flanking Melissa as she worked to move the patients out of the building.

"Again," Melissa spoke into the PA system mic. "This is a Code White, a full hospital evacuation. All critical patients will be taken by ambulance to Hill Valley."

Loud bangs and rumbling caused people to start screaming and panicking while Effie and Derek went on the defensive. They stepped carefully down the hall towards the elevator as lights flickered overhead and metal could be heard groaning.

"Guys?" Melissa questioned.

"Stay behind us." the mated pair echoed each other.

"Ya know," Effie muttered. "Considering what this thing looked like when I drew it, I'm not sure I wanna see it up close."

"Too late now." Derek retorted.

They stopped as the elevator signaled its arrival and a loud roar echoed into the hall.

"Run." Derek said, eyes wide. He turned to the women. "Run!"

Not needing to be told again, Melissa and Effie turned tail and booked it from the building. With Derek on their heels, they slammed through the exit doors and got half way across the parking lot before stopping.

"What now?" Melissa asked.

"Well," Effie exhaled sharply. "I was considering crying in a corner."

Derek shook his head. "We wait for Stiles and the Sheriff. They're almost here."

Effie turned, hearing something. "They're not the only ones."

Melissa and Derek followed her line of sight. What appeared to be a very nearly naked, but also very on fire Parrish came charging through the parking lot, his destination clear. The hospital.

"Should we stop him?" Melissa asked.

"Go for it." Derek offered. "If you know how."

Melissa cleared her throat. "We'll wait for John."

Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long and just after Stiles spun his jeep into the lot, John pulled up in his police cruiser. Scott and Stiles ran right for the emergency room doors while John stopped to make sure Melissa was okay before he, Effie and Derek followed. Under any other circumstances, Effie would have laughed at the way Stiles and Scott jumped when John cocked his gun, but as it was, her ears were focused three floors up, where the Beast could be heard roaming around.

"Fourth floor," Scott informed the group.

As the elevator would cause too much noise, and Effie was pretty sure the Beast had broken it, the five took the stairs, letting John and Derek lead the way once they reached their destination. Effie looked around, seeing all destruction, the small fires and smoke everywhere. The smells were irritating her nose, but she pushed passed it, knowing there were more important things.

Before they could get further than the adjoining hall, a large ball of fire came flying from the hidden passage, straight into the opposite wall. Looking closer, they saw it was Parrish, who had claw marks healing across his chest and what fire that covered his body was gone. Even his eyes lost their supernatural glow.

Effie motioned for Derek to stay with John and Parrish while she led Scott and Stiles the other way, following what seemed to be the Beast's bloody pawprints. Only half way down the hall, they became shoe prints instead.

Kneeling next to them, Effie frowned as she looked the tread over.

"Ef?" Stiles questioned.

Effie shook her head. "No scent. Not even in the blood. And," she ran a magic charged hand over it. "I'm not getting anything else from it, either." she stood, looking at her brother and friend. "Nothing. All this and we've still got nothing."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Effie stood between Stiles and Scott in Deaton's back room as he joined them with an envelope in hand.

"What I'm about to show you," he said. "Isn't supposed to exist."

"Neither am I." Effie crossed her arms. "Let's see it."

Deaton gave a reflexive smile and opened the envelope. Inside was a stack of old photographs, all taken on a polaroid. And each picture was worse than the last.

"This is the only surviving evidence of Dr. Valack's time as Chief Medical Officer of Eichen House." Deaton explained as he laid each picture out. Each patient was deformed, transformed, tortured and dead. "To call it human experimentation would be charitable." Scott picked up one of the pictures. A woman frozen in death, mouth wide open and hands clasped over her ears. "A Banshee. She died screaming."

"So he drilled holes into their heads?" Stiles questioned. "All of them?"

"That was the experimentation part." Deaton confirmed. "He did it to Werewolves, Banshees, Wendigos, any creature he could get his hands on."

Effie swallowed. "No wonder he looked so shocked, yet intrigued, to see me."

Deaton nodded. "You would have been a real prize." he exhaled. "Valack found that trepanation would initially heighten their powers, but to levels that couldn't be contained."

"So he wants to make Lydia more powerful." Scott said.

"Yeah, except she's gonna end up like them." Stiles said, pointing at the pictures.

"Worse, actually." Deaton carried on. "Lydia's abilities were already pretty exceptional to begin with. Putting a hole in her head will be like causing a leak in a nuclear reactor. She'll hear everything. Every death, every dying scream, all at once."

"That's gonna kill her." Effie breathed. She clung to Stiles's arm, her whole body shaking.

"Not only that," Deaton shook his head. "Her own dying scream could be so powerful that it might kill everyone around her as well."

Effie exchanged looks with Stiles and Scott. They had to get Lydia out of Eichen. No matter what.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

While Stiles and Scott filled Liam, Kira and Malia in on the plan to get Lydia out, which admittedly was a terrible plan, but all they had, Effie sat with Derek at the loft, her pencil flying across the pages of her sketch book. Every time she tore one out, Derek took it and tried to figure out where in the timeline it went.

So far, she had Parrish driving a morgue van, Derek, Stiles, Scott and Liam climbing out of body bags, Valack's face showing a number of different expressions, and Parrish, on fire, running towards something.

"Son of a bitch."

Derek turned as Effie stared at her newest sketch. "What is it?"

Effie held up the paper. "Theo." The head Chimera was drawn with his three lackeys behind him. And by the looks of the walls around them, they were at Eichen House. She tossed the book down and dug her hands into her hair. "Just one thing without him getting in the way. Is that really so much to ask?"

"Hey," Derek came over and gently pulled Effie's hands away from her hair. "Hey, just because he's there, does not mean this plan won't work." he dipped his head a bit to meet her eyes. "You are not going to lose Lydia, Effie. Not today, and certainly not because of Theo."

"How do you know?" Effie asked, her voice breaking.

"Because I'll rip his throat out," Derek promised. "Maybe not with my teeth, but if he tries anything that prevents us from getting Lydia out, he won't live to see sunrise."

"Thank you." Effie whispered. She looked at her twitching fingers. "I don't think I'm done drawing yet."

Derek bumped their noses. "Then keep going. You may just draw me killing Theo."

Effie laughed. "I can only hope."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

If Effie was sure of one thing when it came to their Eichen House plan, it was that watching her brother, mate and two friends get into body bags would stick with her forever. Mainly because Stiles kept getting stuck in his, to the point where Derek had to get out of his own and help the elder Stilinski twin while his face read of his desire to kill him.

Luckily for Effie, there was a hidden niche behind the driver's seat that she was able to slide into. She would be hidden from inspection and invisible when the guard looked in the passenger window. Unfortunately, just as they were pulling up to Eichen's security gate, Effie's fingers started twitching, signaling she needed to sketch something. But her book and pencils were in her bag, tucked under the passenger seat.

Clenching her hands tight, Effie focused on her breathing. Because she'd been letting her sketches come freely since they started the plan to get Lydia, it was harder than before to hold them back.

"Alpha. Beta. Omega." she started mouthing her mantra. "Alpha. Beta. Omega." she caught the changes in Derek's, Stiles's and Liam's scents as they picked up her increased heart rate and breathing. Feeling her claws grow as her anxiety grew, Effie changed tactics. "Derek. Stiles. Dad. Derek. Stiles. Dad." As she recited the meaning behind her tattoo, she slowed her breathing and drew her claws back in.

After what seemed like forever, Parrish was able to get the guard to let them through. He looked down towards Effie as he drove towards the morgue entrance.

"You alright?" he asked quietly.

"Need to draw." Effie admitted. "But I couldn't risk moving."

"Any idea what?"

Effie shook her head. "I never know until pencil hits paper."

Parrish threw the van into reverse and started backing towards the door. "Then let's get you inside."

It didn't take too long for the pair to get all the body bags unloaded and, thankfully, there wasn't anyone actually in the morgue at the time.

"Alright," Effie took her bag from Parrish as he shut the van. "Stay close. You'll know when it's time to get out of here."

Parrish nodded. "You guys be careful."

Effie walked backwards with a grin. "Aren't we always?"

"No." the deputy answered as he climbed back into the driver's seat. "I still don't understand why your father lets you out of the house."

"You and everyone who knows us." Effie agreed as she shut the doors. She re-entered the morgue just in time to watch Stiles flail and fall off the exam table his bag had been placed on. "Yeah, no idea why Dad lets us out."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Walking behind Scott, Stiles and Liam, Effie kept her focus on her sketch book. Her pencil was flying over the page, drawing at least three different images at once. Derek was keeping one hand on her back to guide her, knowing she needed to get the images down. When the group suddenly stopped, Effie jerked her head up in confusion.

"What are they doing there?" Scott asked. Effie looked at Derek, who made a motion that somehow meant orderlies.

"I don't know." Stiles answered. "Their rounds should've ended five minutes ago."

"I can take 'em." Liam offered.

They all looked at him.

"No one's taking anyone." Scott informed his beta.

"How much time?" Stiles asked.

Derek pulled his phone. "Three minutes."

"I'll just knock 'em out," Liam offered again. "And hide the bodies."

Stiles looked distressed. "Oh, my god, please stop."

A patient in the room across from where they were hiding banged against the glass. "Did you take the doctor?"

"What?" Liam whispered back.

"Did you take the doctor?" he repeated. "I haven't had my medication. I need ten milligrams at 8am, fifteen at 1pm and no more than twenty at dinner."

"We'll get the doctor." Scott assured.

"Doctor Fenris." the patient said. "Doctor Fenris. They took Doctor Fenris."

Effie swallowed. "He's not lying." she held up her sketch. One of the three images was done. It was Fenris, his eyes wide and seemingly lifeless.

Before the guys could react, the patient started banging against the glass, again.

"I haven't had my medication." he repeated. "I need to see the doctor. They took Doctor Fenris."

"Okay, somebody shut him up." Stiles requested.

"I need to see the doctor."

"Shut him up."

Effie saw Derek and Scott exchange a look before they faced the patient. Only moments later, both were sporting their alpha eyes and fangs. That shut the patient up fast and the orderlies vanished through a side door down the hall.

"Come on," Stiles motioned them on.

Not too far from the door that led to the closed unit, the lights went out and the emergency ones kicked in.

"She did it." Liam said. "Kira did it."

"Five minutes to get to Lydia." Scott informed the twins. Effie handed her bag to Derek, meeting his eyes for a long moment before moving to Stiles's side.

Stiles went to swipe the card, but was stopped.

"Where's the card reader?" he asked. They all looked around. "It should be here. It has to be here."

"They must have taken it out when the Dread Doctors got through." Derek suggested.

Stiles and Effie blinked. "Are you telling me we came all the way down here just to be stopped by an ordinary key? Are you kidding me?" Their words, tone and all, matched perfectly, startling the other three.

Liam looked the door over. "We don't need a key. Not if we can break it down."

Effie and Stiles stood back, watching Derek, Liam and Scott struggle to break the door down. They both knew the clock was ticking, faster and faster, or so it felt.

"Guys, we're running out of time." Stiles pointed out.

"We can't." Scott panted. "The Mountain Ash. It's too much."

Effie stepped up to the door. "Scott, Derek, grab my arms." Even confused, the two did as they were told. "Stiles, get Liam and stand back." They also listened. Effie took a couple of steps back, leaning her upper half forward. "When I give the word, swing me forward, hard." The alphas nodded, adjusting their grips for better support. Effie took a deep breath, eyes shining lilac and focused her magic into her feet. Feeling the charge, she prepared. "Now!" No sooner had the word left her lips, did she jump up and feel the alphas carrying her forward. In one quick motion, she shot her legs out and slammed her shoes into the metal door. It swung open, hard, smashing into the wall and bouncing back several times. Back on her feet, Effie exhaled deeply, reigning in her magic. "Mountain Ash can kiss my ass." she looked at her brother. "Let's go."

"That was hot." Liam commented as the twins ran through the barrier and out of sight.

Scott saw the look on Derek's face. "Uh, Liam,"

The beta looked up nervously. "Hi."

Derek crossed his arms. "Be happy we have other things to do right now."

Liam nodded. "So very happy."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

After working so hard to get to Lydia, after all they'd done to get to the closed unit and to her room, and they had to stand back and hide as Valack came for her.

"Stay focused, Lydia." Valack instructed.

"What did you do to me?" Lydia asked.

"I've amplified your abilities." Valack said. "Something that might just save the lives of your friends."

"Theo and Hayden." Lydia started talking as if in a trance. "They found it. They were looking for Noah, but they found a symbol. A circle inside another circle, carved into a wall. The symbol of Scott's pack."

"It was more than a symbol, wasn't it? It was a promise to reunite them."

"Yes."

"But has Scott done it yet? Will he be coming for you?"

"Someone's coming. But it's not Scott."

Effie growled low. "Theo."

Stiles turned to look and saw Effie was right. Theo, Corey, Tracy and Josh were coming down the hall. It didn't take long before Tracy had Valack pinned to the wall by his neck.

"I can't believe this is actually a medical establishment." Theo commented.

"Now what would a pack of Chimeras want with a Banshee?" Valack asked.

"I don't want a Banshee." Theo informed the doctor. "I'm looking for a hellhound."

Deep growling stopped all talk. Effie moved to kneel beside Stiles and saw Parrish in the same state he'd been at Beacon Memorial. Nearly naked and very much on fire.

"You wanted a hellhound." Valack said. "I think you found one."

As the fighting broke out, Effie was going to suggest to Stiles sneaking past Theo and his morons as they got their asses kicked by Parrish, but two loud, distinctive roars filled the air, causing Effie's eyes to flash lilac. Their alphas were calling. They weren't done yet.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

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Theo, if you could stop giving Effie justifiable reason to beat the holy hell out of you, that'd be great. I swear, I should write a side story with one shots of Effie beating on all the characters I can't stand...Alright, Kate would need more than one chapter, but either way! I loved having Effie just kick the door open like it was nothing. I mean, obviously some major magic went into it, but it was so much fun to write. And Liam's line right after, I laughed writing that. Right in front of Derek, it was perfect. Let me know what you think, flame policy stands and thanks for reading.

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	6. Lie Ability

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Lacy here with our next Effie chapter. Our girl is done with Theo and his shit. Just so done and she has no problems telling him. Or showing him. And we're gonna see that Effie losing control isn't just for Derek being in trouble. That's when it's at the worst, but not the only time it happens. Read on!

Disclaimer: I own only Effie.

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~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Watching Stiles slam against the door Valack had dragged Lydia through, Effie felt her anger growing with each passing second. Witnessing Theo use Lydia as bait, having Corey burned and tossed into them like a cheap toy. It was all too much. Just like when Derek went missing, Effie was reaching the limit of her control.

"Stiles." she nearly growled her brother's name. "Move."

Stiles took one look at Effie and darted out of the way. Much like with the first gate into the closed unit, Effie aimed a well placed, magickally charged, kick at the door and sent it crashing open. She then whipped around and grabbed Theo by the throat the moment he appeared by Stiles.

"You stay the hell away from Lydia." she did growl this time. "Get your lab experiments and get them the hell out of here while they're still breathing."

"You-" Theo choked. "You can't stop us."

Effie's eyes glowed. "Yes." She tightened her hand with each word. "I. Can." Throwing Theo back, she looked at Stiles. "Let's go."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Effie had been hoping that Theo would take getting his sorry ass thrown into a wall as a clear sign that the twins didn't want his help. But, apparently, once he got back on his feet, he decided to follow them. And unfortunately, the trail led them down into the tunnels. Again. If it wasn't the high school, it was the damn tunnels.

After losing Lydia's scent in the disgusting array of smells within the tunnels, Effie began pacing angrily while Theo decided to have a conversation with the pipes.

"What do you smell down here, Stiles?" Theo asked him after the elder twin demanded he find Lydia's scent again.

"Chemical and fecal matter." Stiles said. "Although, I'm pretty sure the fecal matter's you."

"I smell it, too." Theo said. "It's all that I can smell. Which is why I'm trying something else. So can you please shut up and let me concentrate?"

"Alright," Stiles started passed him, grabbing Effie's hand as he went. "I'm gonna find her."

"You know you won't, Stiles." Theo followed them. "You're gonna have to trust me." he stopped short as Effie turned and snarled at him. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's losing control." Stiles defended his sister. "It's what happens when she can't get to those she cares about when they're in danger. As for trusting you, trust the guy who murdered his own sister when he was nine?"

"Yeah, I was nine years old." Theo fought back. "I also believed a guy in a red suit came down the chimney to deliver presents. So when three people in leather masks showed up and said that my sister wanted me to have her heart, I believed them, too."

"So then together you gutted and killed her." Stiles nodded. "It's a beautiful story."

"I watched her fall in the water and freeze to death in minutes. Do you think I had any idea what was going on?"

"I think you pushed her. And I think you liked it."

Before the fighting could continue, Lydia's scream echoed through the tunnels, causing Effie to jerk in Stiles's hold.

"No, stay put." Stiles held her tighter. He knew at this point, the fox was more in control than the druid. Effie wouldn't listen to reason unless it was forced on her. "You cannot go alone. You need our pack." he looked at Theo. "What direction was that? Where's it coming from?"

Theo shook his head. "Everywhere."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Stiles struggled to hold Effie as she ran deeper into the tunnels. He knew she was following her pack bonds to Lydia, but if he let her go, she'd be facing Valack alone and he wasn't letting that happen.

"Hey." Stiles grabbed Effie and held her close. "I get how hard this is for you. Ef, look at me." he waited for her lilac eyes to meet his. "We have to do this together, little sister. Otherwise I can't help you protect our pack. Okay? So, I need you to breathe and pull that fox back under control." he set his hand over her tattoo. "What does this stand for, Mimo? Tell me."

Effie panted hard, working to make sense of her brother's words. She knew she was out of control, but it was hard. But once Stiles placed his hand over her triskele, it was like her focus snapped back into place.

"What does it stand for?" Stiles repeated.

"Derek." Effie said slowly. "Stiles. Dad."

"Again."

"Derek. Stiles. Dad."

Stiles smiled. "There ya go." he kissed her temple. "Now, which way?"

Effie shut her eyes and felt along her pack bonds, following Lydia's to the source. "She's-"

"I see she's under control, again." Theo appeared behind them.

Effie growled. "Keep it up, it'll snap just long enough to gut you."

"Hey, I'm trying to help save Lydia's life." Theo argued.

"Would you just drop the altruistic crap?" Stiles said. "You want Lydia because she gets you to Parrish, you want Parrish 'cause he gets you to the Beast."

"So what?" Theo started walking away. "I want it dead, too."

"Right after you take its power, right?" Stiles threw out. "We know why you got the talons and we know you're looking for Deucalion."

"I found Deucalion." Theo informed them. "You're right. I'm gonna help Parrish stop the beast. I'm gonna take its power. And then I'm gonna break its neck. So maybe I'm not the good guy in your eyes, but I might end up being the guy that saves all your asses."

"And what a sad day that'll be." Effie retorted. She jerked her head. "This way."

"How do you know?" Theo asked.

Effie gave him a look. "Because I have an actual pack and the bonds that come with it. You wanna play knight in tarnished fur or argue some more?" she took Stiles's hand. "Let's go."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Effie had seen a lot of things in her life, most of them really strange. Stiles was her brother after all. But watching Parrish, fully lit in flames, throw Effie and Stiles out of the way and grab Lydia as the Banshee was ready to scream and protect them all from it had reached the top of the list. And Effie thought Valack's head being blown in two from Lydia's scream was impressive.

Now, though, Effie was wishing the scream Parrish shielded had been the end of it all, because watching Lydia had mistletoe pumped into the hole in her head, right before she shattered all the windows in the clinic and then stopped responding was terrifying.

Effie clung to Derek as Stiles begged and pleaded for Lydia to wake up. Tears ran down Effie's eyes at the sight and feeling of Stiles's pain the longer Lydia wasn't responding. All three weres in the room were listening for Lydia's heart, for some sign that she was still with them. They almost gave up hope when Lydia suddenly gasped and started breathing again.

Effie tore from Derek's side and joined Stiles next to the exam table. She sobbed happily at the sight of her best friend's eyes, hugging her around the waist as she rested her head on her stomach.

"Don't do that again, Lyds." Effie whispered, looking up at the Banshee. "Please."

Lydia smiled slightly, nodding at Effie's words.

"You wanna try and sit up?" Stiles asked.

Lydia gave another nod and the twins and Scott helped her slowly into a sitting position. Shards of glass fell from Stiles's back, but no one paid them any mind. Derek, seeing Lydia's mother, pulled Stiles and Effie away from their Banshee so her mother could hug her.

"Heal your brother's ear." Derek said quietly as the Martin women held each other and Natalie cried.

Effie saw the blood staining the side of Stiles's head and easily rested her hand over it.

"They saved my life, Mom." Lydia told her mother, looking around at the group. "Stiles saved me."

Ear freshly healed, Stiles looked around at his pack, smiling and nodding his thanks and gratitude. Effie hugged Derek just a bit tighter, knowing what Stiles was feeling. It was the exact same happiness, relief and comfort that she'd felt when they saved Stiles from the Nogitsune and Derek from Kate.

It was family and nothing would break them apart.

"I'm not paying for the windows." Stiles broke the silence.

Effie shut her eyes as Derek sighed in annoyance. But she would give permission for Stiles to be beat on every so often. Just to keep him humble. And quiet.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

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Yeah, Effie doesn't bull around with her pack. And the scene with her kicking the door open and then grabbing Theo by the throat, that was too much fun to write. We're heading towards the end of the season now, and it's gonna get interesting. Season six, at least the first half, is gonna be hard. Not just to write, but to read. Let me know what you think, flame policy stands and thanks for reading.

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	7. A Credible Threat

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Lacy here with our next Effie chapter. Time to get to the root of just who and what Jordan is. And unfortunately, that means Effie has to be within arms reach of Gerard once more. As we know, when season two ended, she was done with him. As far as she was concerned, he could go crawl in a hole and die. Painfully. So she draws her line for him and she does it so it sticks. And Coach picked a really bad time to relocate his spine. Come on, man. Read on!

Disclaimer: I own only Effie.

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~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

 _'On the move'_

Effie gave Derek a nod as the text came through and they took off in her jeep. They were covering one side of town while Stiles, Scott and Liam covered the other side. Wherever Parrish ended up going, someone would have eyes on him. Even if it was just Chris tailing him the entire time.

"I was looking through the journal and Aunt Talia's Bestiaries," Effie said as Derek drove. "And Hellhounds are almost as rare as True Alphas. In the last few centuries, only fifteen have been documented."

"So any information is for much older 'Hounds," Derek figured. "And we have a modern 'Hound on our hands."

Effie nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately." she looked at her phone as it beeped. "He's heading for the school."

Derek frowned as he changed their direction. "The school?"

Effie shrugged. "We really shouldn't be surprised. Somehow, it always leads back to the school. Like Sunnydale, but in real life."

Derek rolled his eyes. "I regret asking Cora for her DVDs the first time you referenced that show and confused me."

Effie grinned as they pulled up behind Stiles's jeep. Just in time to hear Liam slam the passenger door. They both cringed.

"He's worse than Isaac." Effie commented. "Never thought that'd be possible."

"I think we all hoped it wouldn't be." Derek pointed out.

They headed through the courtyard and met up with Chris, who was looking around.

"Where's Parrish?" Scott asked the hunter.

"I lost him." Chris answered. "He's moving too fast."

"Scott," Liam called their attention. "That guy's not moving at all."

Down the corridor was the body of a man, his chest ripped open. The six moved around him, following the trail of even more bodies, being led right to where the buses were parked in the back of the school. And inside was so much worse.

What looked like dozens of bodies were ripped apart and splayed out inside one of the buses. Effie clamped a hand over her mouth, fighting the urge to be sick.

"Help. Me." one of the victims was still alive, reaching out to them. As the group stepped forward, Parrish appeared, eyes glowing and cinders flying from his body.

"It's a trap." came the distorted voice of the deputy.

"Please," the man pleaded again.

Parrish glanced back at them. "You can't help him."

A snarl followed by the man being ripped in half, his torso falling onto the pavement, showed just how right Parrish was. The Beast growled, appearing over its victims. Its eyes glowed a bluish white and smoke seemed blur the edges of its body.

"That's big." Stiles commented. "No one said it was that big."

"I did." Liam pointed out.

The Beast roared, causing Parrish to return it in kind as he burst into flames. The flaming deputy took off running as the Beast ran through the bus and out the front window. And just like that, the two creatures ran off into the night, leaving the group with nothing but fear and bodies.

"What the hell's happening?" Scott asked.

"It's getting smarter." Chris confirmed their worst fears.

Effie exchanged a look with Derek and Stiles. That was the last thing they wanted to hear.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Effie sat in the library with Scott, Lydia and Stiles as they listened to Liam fill them in on what Mason and Corey had figured out.

"Mason says it's not just to transmit frequency." Liam said. "It's high powered. Like it has to be a really strong signal."

"And that's causing it to shift?" Lydia asked.

"No, I don't think it's just that." Scott said. "Last night Argent said it was getting smarter. What if the Dread Doctors are trying to make the Beast grow faster?"

"With frequencies?" Stiles questioned.

"No, by shifting." Scott cleared up. "The frequency is just the trigger. The important part is when it shifts into the werewolf."

"Like Peter." Lydia said.

Effie nodded. "Right. When Peter was an alpha, he got stronger every full moon. Eventually, his burns healed and he was back to normal." she shrugged. "Or as normal as Peter gets."

"So the Dread Doctors don't want to wait for the full moon." Liam figured.

"They want the Beast to be as strong as possible, as fast as possible." Scott finished the thought.

"Because of Parrish." Liam nodded.

"So if this is happening tonight," Lydia said. "What are we gonna do?"

"Uh, we got one clue to go on." Stiles said, pulling a picture from his bag. It was a shoe print from the night at the hospital. "This came from the hospital. Whoever's lurking inside the Beast is wearing a size ten of indeterminate make."

"Indeterminate?" Lydia questioned, almost bored.

"Means it's a partial print." Effie said.

"Basically," Stiles picked up. "It was all we were able to get considering all the fire, blood and carnage."

"How many size tens are out there?" Scott asked.

"Only one with Parrish's blood on the sole." Stiles pointed out.

"So," Liam looked between the older ones. "Are we gonna try to get the game canceled?"

"No," Stiles said. "No, we're gonna play, but we're just gonna hope really hard that it doesn't turn into a blood-soaked massacre."

"Okay, but, um," Liam frowned. "Aren't we kinda missing out on a chance to catch this thing? We don't have the 'who', but we have the 'where' and the 'when'."

Scott seemed to hesitate answering, biting his lower lip. "There's too many people."

"And we still don't actually know if it's going to happen." Lydia tried for the positive side of things. "It just might end up being a regular lacrosse game. It's possible, right?"

"That's absolutely possible." Stiles granted.

"Extremely unlikely," Effie threw in. "But possible."

"So we're still getting the game canceled." Liam threw out.

"We're getting the game canceled." Scott confirmed.

They all stood, grabbing their bags and made for the exit. Effie noticed Lydia had stopped and turned back.

"Lyds?" she called to the Banshee. She saw Lydia start towards the shelves and knew better than to leave her alone. A quick glance over her shoulder told her the boys were already gone, not having notice their lagging friends. With a small sigh, Effie followed Lydia around the shelves and stopped short.

Parrish was on the ground, covered in dirt, blood and open gouges from claws.

"I'll bring my jeep around." Effie said without any hesitation.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Keeping an eye on Lydia and Parrish in her back seat, Effie focused driving to Chris's bunker, while pulling out her phone. She hit the first speed dial and waited.

 _"Effie?"_

Derek's voice soothed her fox. "Hey, I'm tied up with Lydia and Parrish. Can you join the others at the game? We'll get there when we can, but I don't feel right without as much backup as possible."

 _"Of course. Are they okay?"_

Effie glanced at the Hellhound. "Uh, Lydia's fine. Jordan's, well, he's alive."

 _"I know you were trying for comforting, but you failed."_

"Mmm," Effie agreed. "Comforting seems to be in short supply right now. You just head to the game. I'll call if things get worse."

 _"Like I need a call to know you're in trouble."_

Effie smirked. "Pretend, babe. Pretend."

 _"Yes dear,"_

With a shake of her head, Effie ended the call and refocused on her driving. She could hear Lydia whispering to Parrish as they went, but purposefully tuned them out for privacy.

As she pulled up to Chris's place, Effie swore violently at the sight of just who was waiting for them.

"Bring it in, Effie." Lydia muttered. "We have bigger things to worry about."

"Alright," Effie felt her claws recede. "But one wrong move,"

"I'll hold him down while you tear his throat out." Lydia promised.

Moving quickly, but carefully, the girls got Parrish out of Effie's jeep and into the bunker, where Chris and Gerard were waiting. Once Parrish was sitting and his sweatshirt open to reveal his wounds, the two hunters stepped forward to inspect him.

"Ah, he's healing." Chris said as he squatted down with a light aimed at Parrish's wounds. "Slowly." He stood up, looking at Effie. "Did you try?"

Effie shook her head. "Nothing. I'm not so good with non-shifter. Unless they're human."

"Can you tell us what you remember?" Gerard asked the Hellhound. Effie had a hard time not growling at the old man. Lydia's nails digging into her hand helped, though.

"Just bits and pieces." Parrish said. "Moments when I caught up with it."

"What else do you remember?" Chris asked rather forcefully.

"I was losing." Parrish admitted.

"You said you could help him." Lydia spoke, looking at Chris.

"We have an idea or two." Gerard said, arms crossed.

"We've been wondering if resolving this internal conflict you're having," Chris said. "Could help resolve the external one you're losing against the Beast."

"Deputy," Gerard jerked his head to the side and led them out of the room. "It's time you and your alter ego had a proper introduction."

"How are you going to do that?" Effie asked, arms crossed tightly now that Lydia had released her hand.

"With this." Chris opened a fence door to reveal what had to be a seriously tricked out cryo-chamber. Effie didn't know whether to be impressed or revolted that the hunters had one. So she settled on cautious optimism that it would help Parrish. "It'll bring your body temperature down to a level that would kill a normal human being." Chris started explaining.

"Why down and not up?" Parrish asked.

"Something happens to someone like you," Chris said. "When the body cools to extreme temperatures. Everything slows down. The heart, the mind. It lets you consciously access a part of you that's usually unconscious."

"The supernatural part." Gerard threw in.

"But that's dangerous, isn't it?" Lydia questioned obviously.

"Well, it's far less dangerous than if the Deputy can't evolve to face the Beast." Gerard said.

"Evolve?" Parrish asked.

Chris shook his head. "The Beast is not just getting smarter. Imagine it this way. Each night the teenage Chimera,"

"The success." Lydia and Effie chorused.

Chris gave them a nod. "This teenager goes out into the night and transforms. Whether it's a young man or a young woman, they become a werewolf. A very large, very powerful werewolf the people of Gevaudan called the Beast. Every night it transforms, it remembers a little more of who it used to be."

"It yearns for its identity." Gerard picked up. "Its name. Not just The Beast of Gevaudan, but the man."

"The man of Gevaudan who want to live too. He wants to exist. So imagine that one night the teenager goes out and transforms again. But when the Beast transforms back, the Man of Gevaudan stands there instead."

"Fully realized. Alive once again."

"That's what Valak meant." Lydia said. "He said, _'When the Beast remembers, the teenager would be gone.'_ "

"Gone?" Parrish looked at Lydia. "Like no longer exists? How's that even possible?" They all stayed silent and Parrish shook his head. "Forget I asked."

Chris stepped around Jordan to open the cryochamber for the 'Hound. As he stepped into it, Effie couldn't help but notice how he and Lydia locked eyes and either couldn't or wouldn't look away. As Chris sealed the door, Effie stepped closer to Lydia and put her arm around the Banshee. They watched together as Chris turned the dial for the chamber, activating it, and watched the cold mist slowly surround Parrish.

It only took moments before the chamber beeped, signaling that the optimal temperature had been reached. Suddenly, through the mist, Parrish's hand pressed hard against the glass. Lydia shot forward, but Gerard grabbed her arm, stopping her. Effie retaliated before even thinking about it, gripping the Argent in a clawed hand.

"Keep your hands off of her." she growled.

"Effie." Chris and Lydia cautioned.

"I'll tolerate your presence." Effie ignored them, her eyes glued to Gerard. "But that's all I'll tolerate." she squeezed harder, hearing the grinding of Gerard's bones. "Are we clear?"

Even if he fought to keep a straight face, not even Gerard could fight the pain Effie was inflicting. His brow creased under the pressure and his arm began to shake.

"Are we clear?" Effie asked again.

Gerard gave a jerky nod. "We're clear."

In one quick move, Effie released him, stepped back to Lydia's side and smiled politely. "Fantastic."

Chris shook his head. "Can we focus? We've got a Hellhound waiting on us."

Looking at the chamber, they saw Parrish's eyes were glowing, watching them with interest.

"That's a little unnerving." Effie muttered.

Chris nodded his agreement and stepped aside. Lydia took his place before the chamber, ready to speak with the 'Hound.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

 _'Coach didn't forfeit the game.'_

Effie shut her eyes as she looked at Derek's message. For a man who spent seven months hiding in rehab because he was afraid of getting supernaturally attacked, again, Finstock picked a bad time to locate his backbone.

 _'Smack him for me when you get a chance.'_ Effie replied. _'Working w/Parrish now. Update you later.'_

Shoving her phone back into her pocket, Effie re-entered the chamber room, arms crossing as she stood beside Chris.

"Do you know who I am?" Lydia asked the 'Hound.

"The Banshee." the creature answered.

"What about Jordan Parrish?" Lydia asked. "Why is it you and not him? What happened to Parrish?"

"Jordan Parrish died." the Hellhound said. "There is no Jordan Parrish."

Effie's breath froze in her chest as the 'Hound's words sank in.

"What are you talking about?" Lydia nearly whispered. "How is Parrish dead?"

"He's a body." the Hellhound explained. "A means to an end. I am beyond life and death. I am infinite. I have no use for your Deputy."

"But we do." Lydia argued. "We need him."

"Your Deputy won't kill the beast."

"Neither will you." Lydia shook her head. "I'm a harbinger of death too. I know people are going to die. And if you do not let Parrish in, he will die too. You'll die! You have a chance with Parrish. You need him."

"Lydia," Chris spoke up. "Tell him to remember."

Lydia looked at them. "What?"

"Tell him to remember the moment Parrish died." Effie said. "If you make him remember, maybe we can get Jordan back."

Lydia exhaled, stepping back from the chamber a couple of steps. "When did he die?"

"When I was born." the 'Hound said.

Those words seemed to be just the trigger they needed. The Hellhound started roaring inside the chamber, shaking it where it stood. Lydia stumbled backwards, right into Effie's arms. The fox held the Banshee close, both never taking their eyes off Parrish's body. They watched him struggle and shake before the door finally flung open and Lydia shot forward to catch Parrish.

"Are you alright?" she asked the shaken deputy.

"I know who I am." Parrish panted. "I know what I have to do. I have to leave."

Effie ran a hand through her hair. Not the answer they were hoping for.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

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Uh, Jordan, can you not run away? Please? You're kinda our last chance. Seriously. It's getting messy from here, kids. Let me know what you think, flame policy stands and thanks for reading!

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	8. Maid of Gevaudan

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Lacy here. Alright, who remembers Effie showing Kira the collage of Mason and the Beast she kept drawing? Time to find out why she was doing it. That's right, the identity of the Beast shall be known before the end. Read on!

Disclaimer: I own only Effie.

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~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Leaving Lydia with Gerard was the last thing Effie wanted to do, but Chris swore he'd keep his father away and Effie was practically pacing a hole into the bunker because of the distress coming over her pack bonds.

Before she even reached the school, screams of terror were filling her ears. There were so many of them, she almost couldn't focus on bringing her jeep to a stop. Jumping out, she shifted immediately and let loose a howl into the air. She knew the risks of it bringing the Beast down on her, but she needed to know where her pack was. Where Derek was.

His answering howl brought Effie to the lacrosse field, her eyes wide as the sight of so much destruction and blood. It was nearly overwhelming.

"Effie!"

The fox spun in place, landing right in Derek's arms as he pulled her under the bleachers.

"What the hell is going on, Derek?" Effie breathed.

"The Beast." Derek confirmed what she'd guessed. "We didn't get one of the TV vans. Malia's mother showed up, stopped us from keeping them offline. It trigger the Beast and it's been rampaging since."

Effie cursed Malia's mother. The damn coyote was going to get dozens of people killed, all because she wanted her power back from her daughter.

"Where are the others?" Effie asked, looking around the field.

"As far as I know, they got inside." Derek said. "I was looking for stragglers or survivors."

Effie looked up at him, hearing his choked tone. "Anyone?"

Derek shook his head. "No. Anyone I've come across is gone."

Effie went to close her eyes, but a vibrating roar from the Beast shook the two shifters and they turned to face the school, eyes flashing.

"Let's go." Effie growled.

Derek didn't bother telling Effie they stood no chance. The druidfox was angry and determined to protect those she could. They took off, running fast for the building. Much like Eichen House, Effie could feel the waves of emotions flowing from inside, fear and panic the most prominent. Busting through a set of double doors, Effie saw blood and claw marks streaking along the walls, pools around corners and near doors.

"There's too many other scents." Derek said. "I can't find the others."

"Then we don't use scents." Effie said simply. "I can track them through pack bonds."

"You don't consider Scott pack." Derek pointed out.

Effie exhaled. "No, but my druid can feel the powers of an alpha. You're right here, so the other one I'm sensing has to be Scott."

Derek flicked out his claws. "Alright, let's go."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

When it became clear that Scott was bouncing all over the school with the Beast, Derek and Effie refocused on getting everyone they could away from the building and surrounding area. While doing so, they ran into Braeden, Malia and Liam. The young wolf informed them that Hayden and Stiles were also evacuating the school and getting medical attention for those that needed it.

Halfway through the school, Effie suddenly stopped and whipped around.

"Ef?" Derek grabbed her hand.

"Scott." Effie said. "The library." she looked at the others. "Now."

Without blinking, Effie and Liam tore off in front of the others, leaving Derek and Malia to backup Braeden. The two busted into the library and upon seeing Scott pinned, charged head first into the fight. Liam jumped into the air, bringing both fists down on the Beast's jaw, while Effie scored her magickly charged claws up the creature's side. Liam fell to the side, knocked down by his own blow, and Effie jumped towards the shelves as the sound of Braeden's gun cocking filled the air. Malia roared, eyes bright blue and Derek echoed it with his own red glow.

Thirteen shots from Braeden and the Beast jumped, breaking through the window and vanishing from sight.

Liam and Malia helped Scott to his feet and Derek pulled Effie into his side as they all moved to look at the shattered window.

"You didn't seriously think you were gonna have a chance against that thing, did you?" Braeden questioned the true alpha.

Scott panted in exhaustion and pain. "No," he shook his head. "But I got its scent."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

"Scott, wait!" Liam and Effie chased after Scott. "You're hurt. Slow down."

It quickly became clear Scott wasn't going to listen, so they followed him to the parking lot, as he sniffed out the Beast's trail. He moved from car to car, until he stopped at the trunk of a black sedan. Wrenching the trunk open, they found the shoes. Covered in Parrish's blood.

Shutting the trunk, all three were shocked to see Mason standing right by the car door.

"Scott?" Mason questioned. "What are you doing to my car?"

"Mason?" Effie gasped.

"It's you." Scott exhaled.

"What?" Mason looked at Liam. "Liam, what's he talking about?" Liam shook his head. "Liam?"

Corey suddenly appeared from the car beside Mason's and grabbed his boyfriend.

"Corey, wait!" Scott pleaded. The shifter didn't listen, vanishing with Mason. "Corey, wait!"

It was no use. Corey and Mason had vanished. The Beast was gone.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

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Bad timing, Corey. Seriously, kiddo, we kinda need him. And not to kill him! I don't think...Okay, so he had good reason to grab Mason and run. We're reaching the end of season five and Effie's nearly at the end of her rope with all that's happening. Let me know what you think, flame policy stands and thanks for reading!

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	9. The Beast of Beacon Hills

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Lacy here with our next Effie chapter. Mason is the Beast. Corey has taken him and run and everyone is looking for them. Parrish, on the other hand, is trying to make an escape of his own. Too bad for him, John and Lydia aren't that easy to get away from. Read on!

Disclaimer: I own only Effie.

End Transmission

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Having spent hours looking for Mason and Corey, Derek finally decided that Effie and Stiles needed rest. He sent Stiles to Scott's house to check on the wounded alpha and to check in with Braeden and Malia and drove Effie to the loft.

Derek couldn't help but notice how silent Effie was for the entire drive. He knew she'd been drawing collages of Mason and the Beast, even if she hadn't known why at the time, and could only guess she was blaming herself for not connecting the dots sooner.

"We have to save Mason." Effie finally broke the silence once they were in the loft. She'd dropped down on the side of the bed and stared at the floor. But her words were loud and clear. "This pack can't handle losing someone else."

Derek sighed, leaning back against the kitchen island. "In order to save Mason, we need to figure out how to stop the Dread Doctors."

"And how they were able to use Mason when he's not a chimera." Effie pointed out. She ran her hands over her face. "Well," she dropped them and looked at Derek. "At least we know they didn't get to me."

Derek snorted. "Yeah, definitely a relief." he watched Effie carefully. "You gonna be okay?"

"I'm," Effie blew out a slow breath. "I'm missing the days when Gerard and Peter were the worst things we had to deal with."

"Yeah," Derek nodded. "Those were definitely easier days." he crossed over to the bed. "Let's try and sleep. Maybe we'll wake up and Peter will have escaped and annoyed the Dread Doctors into leaving."

Effie laughed. "We're not that lucky. But points for trying."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Kira was off figuring out her powers and weapon. Lydia was helping Parrish figure out how to not be so afraid of his powers. And Effie was silently cursing her powers for not helping the pack when they needed it. Especially as she, Liam and Scott were heading to meet up with Theo and Tracy.

"How stupid are we to be doing this?" Liam asked.

"We're not stupid." Scott argued. "We're desperate."

"How desperate?"

"Incredibly desperate."

Scott opened the locker room door and Theo and Tracy were already waiting. The three entered, joining them. Effie blocked the door so no one could follow in and over hear them. After the attack by the Beast, that was the last thing they needed.

"I told you we'd end up on the same side." Theo pointed out.

"How about I punch you in the balls to remind you we're not?" Liam suggested. Effie snickered from behind Liam and Scott, ignoring the look she was given. She was there to represent her pack, not to play nice.

Theo laughed. "I love this kid."

"I don't." Tracy added.

"We know you're not on our side, Theo." Scott broke up the potential pissing match. "You said you wanted to help Lydia, but you left Eichen with something else, didn't you?"

"You mean the mask?" Theo questioned. "Are you worried about that?"

"Did you put it on?" Scott asked. He saw the look Tracy gave Theo. "Who did you see?"

"Not Mason." Theo said.

"What's that mean?" Liam asked. "It's not him?"

"It probably means he's a lost cause." Tracy butted in.

"Hey, Medusa," Effie stepped forward, blocking Liam from Tracy's view. "Unless you have something helpful to add, keep your mouth shut." Tracy growled, stepping towards her. "Oh, please, make a move. Ripping your ass apart would make my week."

"We all want the same thing." Theo put an arm in front of Tracy. "We want Mason back."

"Okay," Scott played along. "But the difference is that we want him back alive."

"Well," Theo stepped forward. "I'm open to compromise. You still got the map with the telluric currents on it? Bring it to the operating theater in two hours."

Yeah, that didn't sound suspicious at all.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Theo was possibly the worst shifter in existence. And that was coming from knowing Jackson as a werewolf and a kanima.

Derek and Effie had been tracking Theo, Liam and Scott since they left the operating theater and started their little hike in the woods. Both Scott and Liam had already detected their presences. Liam calmed, marginally, and Scott relaxed a bit. But Theo, great shifter he claimed to be, hadn't sensed anything off about the woods around them. Which made some sense. Derek and Effie grew up in the woods around Beacon Hills. Even before Effie was a shifter, she could vanish into the woods for hours without anyone finding her.

"Where is he?" Scott asked Theo as they walked.

"I thought we were looking for him." Theo volleyed back.

"You know who I'm talking about."

"Deucalion?"

"You shouldn't trust him."

"You're the one who let him live."

"I'm not a murderer."

"You still think you're gonna get through all this without killing anyone?"

"I didn't say that."

Liam stopped, head tilted towards the ground. He gave a small nod. "We're close."

"You get his scent?" Scott asked.

Liam nodded once more.

"Which way?"

Effie drowned out the three and focused on her pack bond with Liam. She followed the bond he shared with Mason and tried tracking it now that Liam was focused on his best friend.

"Anything?" Derek asked, his voice so quiet Effie barely heard him.

Effie shook her head. "No. It's like the Beast or the Doctors are masking his bond. Muddying it so it can't be tracked."

"Would explain why Liam hasn't found him before now." Derek suggested as they continued after the trio below them. The two were springing from tree to tree, Effie manipulating the wind to cover any sounds they made. They landed in front of the beaten down shack just behind the three and stood straight as Theo whipped around on them.

"Back up?" Theo asked Scott.

"That would imply that my pack works _for_ Scott's." Derek crossed his arms. "I was pretty sure we were all working _together_."

"Can we not?" Effie asked, seeing Liam practically vibrate in agitation. "There's one heartbeat inside. It's pattern matches Mason's. Let's go."

The five quickly made their way inside, Effie and Liam leading the way. The entire place had an eerie green tinge to it, but it didn't take long to find Mason. Unfortunately, he was unconscious and had something attaching his neck to a large tank that was holding a man suspended in some kind of fluid.

"What is this thing?" Liam asked.

Theo shook his head. "I don't know."

"Liam," Mason cried. "I can feel it. It's in my skull."

"Don't move." Liam instructed Mason.

"Careful." Scott added.

"What are they doing to him?"

"I don't know." Theo insisted.

Effie moved around the tank, sliding her hands over it. She could feel the connection between whatever was in the tank and Mason. There were definite electromagnetic currents flowing between the two and through the liquid.

Jerking back at a sudden wave of pain, Effie looked at Mason and saw Scott's hand darting away from the thing attached to his neck.

"You okay?" Derek asked quietly.

Effie nodded. "I felt Scott trying to take the device out. It was like someone trying to pull out my spine."

Clicking sounds stopped Derek from responding. They turned as Theo did and they all saw what had joined them.

The Dread Doctors. All three of them.

Okay, screwed just took on a whole new meaning.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Effie grunted as she was tossed away from one of the doctors into Derek. The two crashed against the wall, sliding to the floor.

"Scott's right," Derek huffed. "We can't beat them."

Effie stood, breathing heavily. "No, but maybe we can distract them." Charging over to the Doctor nearest to her, Effie grabbed its head and focused on the electricity in the air. "Try this frequency out, asshole." Effie pulled her hands away, air crackling between her and the Doctor's head. With a harsh cry, she smashed her hands into the Doctor's head. The blow echoed through the room, knocking both Effie and the Doctor back. The other Doctors looked at Effie, their postures reading surprised.

"Woah," Derek steadied Effie. "What the hell was that?"

Effie panted. "Last resort. I reversed the charge going into him and created a shock wave."

"How?" Theo asked.

"Druidfox, remember?" Effie quipped. She whipped towards Mason when he started screaming suddenly. "Oh shit."

Everyone, even the Doctors, turned as Mason stood, screaming at the top of his lungs while pulling the device from his neck.

"Transformation." the head Doctor, called the Surgeon if Effie recalled right, said. "Transformation without frequency."

"Mason!" Liam called to his friend.

Mason's eyes glowed bright, neon blue as he growled, smoke swirling around him. "That is not my name." Those words seemed to trigger the transformation into the Beast. And to everyone's surprise, the Beast went right after the Doctors.

Everyone was knocked backwards as the Beast charged at each of the Doctors. And he didn't just kill them. He made sure they would never get up again, no matter what kind of pseudoscience they used. Couldn't really do a who lot without the entirety of your blood volume. Or your head, in one case. Then he plowed through Theo, took out the last Doctor, and raced out of the bunker.

Derek and Effie shot after him, just a few steps behind Scott and Liam. The four stopped, watching the Beast drop the last Doctor on the ground. And watching Parrish appear, flame burning, to drop a solid punch on the Beast. Shotgun fire followed, causing Derek and Effie to spin. Chris and Gerard were coming towards them, Chris with his gun aimed at the Beast. He unloaded shot after shot into the Beast, even as the shifter tried running away.

When Chris fired his last shot, the Beast began transforming back into his human shape. Only, it wasn't Mason.

"La Bete Du Gevaudan!" Gerard called out to the man. "I know your name. Do you remember mine?"

"Argent." the man said with a heavy french accent. He glared heavily at Gerard and Chris before taking off into the woods. Parrish roared, flames burning once more, and took off after the monster.

"Who the hell was that?" Scott asked.

"You've seen the Beast of Gevaudan." Gerard said. "That was the Man."

"Sebastian Valet." Chris added.

Effie looked at Chris, at Derek and at Scott. "Did we just lose Mason?"

No one answered. No one had to.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Begin Transmission

Well, that was an adventure to write. Last chapter was all I'd had previously written, and it had been some time since I sat and wrote Effie. So I'll admit, this is a little rough, but I got across what I wanted to happen in the chapter. Next up, we have the season finale. Let me know what you think, flame policy stands and thanks for reading.

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	10. Apotheosis

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Holy crap, guys, Lacy here with the final chapter of season five. Can you believe it? *crickets* Okay, hush. We've done it, we've reached the end of season five. That means the end of the Beast, the end of the Dread Doctors and the end, for now, of Theo. That last one is so satisfying. I know he comes back, and I even grow to like him when he does, but right now, I can't stand the little bastard. This final showdown is gonna be epic and it's gonna be wild. Read on!

Disclaimer: I own only Effie.

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~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

"This is a bad plan."

Effie had repeated the words at least seven times since Scott decided they were taking the last living Doctor to Deaton for treatment.

"No worse than any of our other plans." Liam commented, grunting as he helped Scott support the Doctor.

"Oh, I can think of a few worse." Derek said, checking behind them to make sure they weren't being followed. "A couple before your time. But this one is definitely up there."

Effie yanked the clinic's backdoor open and followed behind Liam and Scott with Derek. The four, the Doctor between them, stopped and looked at Stiles and Deaton.

"He's still alive." Scott declared.

Effie saw their faces. "We know, bad plan."

"Terrible plan." Stiles agreed.

Deaton sighed. "Get him on the table."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

"Can you keep him alive?" Scott asked as Deaton got to work.

"I'm not sure he technically is alive." Deaton responded.

"Screw keeping him alive." Liam said. "How do we get him to talk?"

"Personally," Stiles spoke up. "I don't think we utilize torture nearly enough."

" _Come,"_

The shifters froze.

"Did you hear that?" Liam asked.

" _Come to me,"_ They looked around, trying to find the source. " _To me."_

The Doctor sat up suddenly, emitting a high pitched noise that had everyone dropping back, covering their ears in pain. Liam started to charge the Doctor, ignoring Scott's call of warning, and was rewarded for his efforts by being slammed back into the shelving by an electromagnetic pulse straight from the Doctor's hand.

Feeling a shift in the room after the Doctor vanished, Derek grabbed Stiles and Effie and moved them back as everything metal was yanked towards the open doorway and held there. He could hear the sounds of electricity crackling between each object, locking them in.

"Stop!" Deaton warned Scott and Liam. "It's electrified."

"Someone else is here." Effie said, head tilted towards the outside. "Sebastian."

" _Marcel,"_

"He knows who the Doctor is." Derek filled Deaton and Stiles in.

" _If this is what immortality looks like, I think you might have been misled."_

" _For you. All for you."_

" _What did you do with it, Marcel? Where is the pike?"_

" _The Argents. The. Argents."_

"The cane." Scott figured out.

"But they took it." Liam said. "They took the cane."

Effie stepped towards their barrier, hands crackling with power. "I'm ripping Gerard's arms off and beating him to death with them." she grabbed the first object in the way and growled as she reversed the charge. Derek touched her shoulder, wincing at the current running through his mate, but pulling her pain so she could focus. The others stood back, watching as Effie removed each and every piece of metal blocking the entrance to the room. Derek's hold never wavered and the druidfox never stopped.

When the last piece fell to the floor, Effie sagged into Derek's arms and exhaled heavily.

"Aggression taken care of, sis?" Stiles asked casually.

Effie huffed a laugh. "For now." she faced the others. "What do we do now?"

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

"Maybe there's something in here." Scott flipped through Mason's medical records. "Something about how he was a Genetic Chimera."

"Mason had a vanishing twin." Deaton told them what Stiles had shared with him.

"Now we've got a vanishing Mason." Stiles unhelpfully added.

"What does that have to do with him turning into a two-hundred and fifty year old French guy?" Liam asked. "How does that even happen?"

"Hold on," Deaton said. "Scott might have something. Mason's twin wasn't entirely gone. That's what made him a Genetic Chimera."

"The DNA was still there." Scott connected what Deaton was saying.

Derek crossed his arms. "Then, on some level, shouldn't the DNA of Mason still be inside Sebastian as well?"

Stiles frowned. "How?"

"Life is energy." Deaton explained. "Energy doesn't just disappear. The Dread Doctors may have found a way to break the rules of the supernatural world, but there are some rules that simply won't break."

"So Mason can't just be gone." Liam guessed.

"Somewhere in Sebastian he has to still exist in some form." Effie said. "In energy or even a memory."

"Hang on," Stiles had picked up the Doctor's mask. "Liam, you said Mason said something right before he turned."

"He said, 'That's not my name.'"

"He finally remembered his name." Scott said.

" _Damnatio Memoriae._ " Stiles said.

Effie exhaled. "That's what they wanted. They wanted Sebastian to remember his name."

"Scott," Derek looked at the other alpha. "You know the myth of what happens when you call a werewolf by its given name?"

Scott looked at him. "It turns back to human."

"What does that mean?" Liam asked. "Someone can just walk up to the Beast, yell Mason's name and turn him back?"

Scott shook his head. "Not someone."

The twins looked at each other. "Lydia."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Knowing Lydia was hurt, again, was like a punch to the stomach. Knowing her voice was the only way they would get Mason back and now she couldn't use it? That was even worse. But Melissa, as always, had a solution. Even if it could get her fired.

A cortisone shot right into Lydia's neck. Not only would it bring the swelling down from her wounds, but it would allow her to use her voice. Both of her voices.

The plan was for Scott, Effie, Liam and Lydia to head for the sewers to find the Beast, while Derek and Stiles went to get Malia. Originally, Derek had been going with the others, but Effie kept sketching Malia's mother and didn't want Stiles going alone.

"Okay, we'll get Malia." Stiles and Derek started to run off. "Text when you find Parrish."

"Hold on," Scott pulled something from his jacket. It was wrapped in a brown paper bag.

"What is this?" Stiles asked. He looked at Derek, but the older wolf shook his head. He had no idea.

"Something I've been working on for a while." Scott said. "Just make sure Malia gets it."

"Okay, is it a plan B?"

"It was plan A."

"Plan A never works." Stiles and Effie said.

"This one will."

Derek grabbed Stiles's arm. "We don't have time." The two shared a look with Effie before turning and running. Effie looked at Scott.

"He's right." she said. "We don't have time. Let's go."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Effie cringed as she felt the electricity running through her body. Because she hadn't been prepared for Theo's surprise attack, Effie was as vulnerable to it as Liam and Scott. She watched, body twitching from the charge, as Theo paralyzed Scott and forced him to drop Lydia. She could hear her best friend scream as she fell into a dark opening in the floor. Once quiet, Theo stood from Scott's side and smirked.

And then the Beast roared.

"Hear that?" Theo taunted. "That's the sound of real power."

Effie growled low. Oh, she was getting sick of his real power shtick. Picking up on another set of footsteps, Effie's growl morphed into a smirk of her own. Theo would never see this coming. Shortly after the bastard vanished from sight, a pair of shoes appeared within Effie's line of vision.

"Need a hand?"

Effie laughed, only to quickly groan. "Electricity is a bitch when you're not prepared."

Deucalion leaned down, syphoning Effie's pain. "As I've only been on the receiving end of it, I'll have to agree. At least, partly." Once enough pain was gone, he helped her up and they moved to help Liam and Scott. Effie winced at the sound of Deucalion breaking Scott's arm to help get the Kanima venom out of his system faster, but kept her focus on getting Liam on his feet.

"What now?" Liam asked once they were all up.

"Theo doesn't stand a chance at actually taking the Beast's powers." Deucalion shared. "Not with his own claws. If I'm right, we'll find him licking his ego not too far away."

Effie shook her head once. "Almost wish I could stop and savor that moment."

"Later, my dear." Deucalion chuckled. "Later. We have a Beast to stop."

The four took off, Deucalion in the lead, as they searched for Theo. It didn't take long, the other shifter was shouting after the Beast left him on the ground. Theo saw them coming, saw Deucalion leading his enemies towards him.

"You lied to me." Theo accused. Deucalion squatted beside him. "You and Scott,"

"That's right, Theo." Deucalion confirmed. "And Derek, as well." he removed his sunglasses, returning his eyes to their normal, healed state. "The whole time."

"It would've never worked." Theo said, referring to taking the Beast's powers.

"It could have worked." Deucalion informed him. "With Belasko's talons." With a smirk, Deucalion reached out and broke Theo's neck. Just enough to paralyze him, but not kill him.

"You broke my neck." Theo tried to growl from his prone position.

Deucalion stood. "And good luck with that." He looked at the others. "There's an access gate that leads to the sublevel. I think we can get to Lydia there."

"What about Mason?" Liam asked.

"We can still save your friend."

"Let's go." Scott turned, Liam, Effie and Deucalion following. Until a gunshot rang out and the former demon alpha fell against the wall.

"This just isn't my day." Deucalion groaned. Effie dropped beside him, hand going to his wound.

"This is a surprising alliance, Scott." Gerard and Chris walked towards them, the older Argent holding his gun out. "You and Deucalion? How long have you been planning this clever little double cross?"

"About as long as he and I have been planning this one." Chris stepped forward, tossing the Doctor's cane to Scott.

"What are you doing?" Gerard asked in disbelief.

Chris glanced at Scott over his shoulder. "I knew when I brought you back, it would never be about saving lives. Only about immortalizing your own." he quickly pulled his gun as Gerard did and aimed it at his father's face. "Scott, go. Go, now!"

Effie looked at Scott. "I've got Deucalion. Go. Save Mason."

Scott exhaled heavily, but nodded. He and Liam vanished down the corridor as Effie started helping Deucalion to his feet.

"Just leave me." the older shifter insisted.

"Shut up." Effie snarked back. "You're our ally. In case you missed it, we don't abandon allies." she took one last look at Theo near Gerard's feet, then at Chris. The hunter knew without looking at Effie was waiting for reassurance he'd be okay.

"Go." Chris said, never taking his eyes off his father. "I'll find you when it's over."

Adjusting her grip on Deucalion, Effie gave a sharp nod and took off after Liam and Scott. No sooner did they turn the corner did a gunshot ring out. Effie stopped, scenting the air, before continuing with a wide smirk.

"Forearm." Deucalion said. "Grazing shot."

"More than enough for Gerard to realize he doesn't control things anymore." Effie said. She set Deucalion down on a small ledge and knelt in front of him. "I've gotta see the wound in order to get any bullet shards out."

Deucalion frowned as Effie lifted his shirt. "You can do that?"

Effie smirked. "Kali made a huge mistake turning me. I've got the perks and powers of both my druid spark and my fox. Meaning I can focus on any metal left behind and draw it out through the exit wound." she held her hand over the wound. "Try not to scream. Last thing we need is the Beast coming down on us. And any distraction might cause me to slice you up, instead of saving you."

"Oh, that's comfor-" Deucalion growled and clamped his mouth shut as he felt movement from his torso. He saw the pinched look on Effie's brow as her eyes glowed bright lilac. The pain was a burning he hadn't felt since Gerard took his eyes so many years before, but unlike that time, once Effie was holding three metal shards in her hand, the pain was gone and a warmth spread over the area.

"There," Effie stood with only a slight stumble. "You'll heal just fine, now."

"And you?" Deucalion stood with a groan, reaching out to steady Effie. "You're incredibly pale."

"Side effect." Effie shook her head slowly. "I'd bounce back faster if Derek was here, but that's not an option." she tossed the shards aside. "Let's go."

"Are you sure?" Deucalion felt he was almost healed, but he wasn't sure Effie was strong enough to keep fighting.

"Scott may not be my alpha," Effie said. "But he's my family. And we both know how precious that is."

Deucalion smiled, proud of the druidfox before him. "Then let's go."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Effie and Deucalion rounded the corner just as Lydia and Kira did from the opposite side.

"Mason." Lydia asked the boy's name. Sebastian turned to look at her, and began marching towards her, shifting as he went.

"I think you're gonna need to try it a little louder." Kira advised.

" **MASON!"**

Lydia's voice echoed through the chamber, causing everyone to shrink back and wince from the force. The cloud around the Beast seemed to explode and slowly, almost too slowly, Mason appeared and began falling forward. Corey, who had been hiding the entire time, appeared and grabbed his boyfriend with gentle hands.

But the Beast wasn't done yet. Appearing as almost a phantom, it started twisting away, trying to escape, or find a new host. But Parrish grabbed it at the opening of the chamber and looked at the alpha.

"Scott!" he called out.

Scott ran, grabbing the cane and threw it with perfect accuracy. It drove right through the torso of the Beast and the entire thing vanished. Almost as if it had never existed at all. The flames around Parrish vanished and everyone shared startled, but excited looks.

"Is everyone okay?" Scott asked.

"Not everyone." Theo snarled. The shifter was sparking with electricity and looked more pissed than Effie could ever recall.

"I am done with-"

"Hold up," Deucalion stopped Effie before she could charge Theo. His eyes were on Kira as she came running forward, stopping Theo's lightning with her sword. "I think Kira has this one."

"The Skinwalkers have a message for you, Theo." Kira said, her eyes glowing bright orange. "Your sister wants to see you." Kira stabbed her sword into the ground, causing a large crack to appear and shoot towards Theo. Right in front of him, a hole opened up and a body started climbing out. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was Theo's sister. She looked up at her brother, grabbed a hold and began pulling him back down with her.

"Scott, help me!" Theo screamed. "No! No! Scott, help me! Scott! No! Scott! Help me!"

Theo vanished and the hole along with him. Silence rang through the chamber before Effie snorted in amusement. The group turned to her, some frowning, others smiling.

"His voice squeaked." Effie managed before she started laughing.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Effie walked slowly through the graveyard, a small bouquet of flowers in her hands. She knew Chris and Derek were behind her, watching as she made her way towards one certain grave.

"You did it, Ally," Effie said softly as she placed the flowers and knelt down. She looked at the name written in the stone, running her fingers over it. "You saved Scott's life, again. His memories of you, the love you two shared, it saved his life." she licked her lips, fighting to keep her tears at bay. "You know, I drew this moment weeks ago. And I couldn't figure out why, but now that I know, I'm so glad I'm here." she kissed her fingers and touched the grave. "We love you, Allison and now we know for sure that you're watching over us."

Standing, Effie looked towards where the Hales and her mother were buried, but made her way out of the cemetery instead of going to them. Her visit was about Allison and she knew the others would understand.

Walking straight into Derek's arms, Effie smiled at Chris as he kissed her head and moved to have his own visit with his daughter.

"You okay?" Derek asked softly as they headed towards Effie's jeep.

"Yeah," Effie nodded. "Yeah, for once, I'm okay." she smiled as Derek released her. "It feels good to know we saved Mason and that Allison is still with us. Gives me hope that Boyd, Erica and Aiden are, too. Maybe even Mom and your family."

Derek exhaled, but nodded. "Yeah, I think I'd be okay with that. You can never have too many people watching your back." he kissed Effie quickly. "Come on, let's get you to school. I promised your dad you'd only miss one period."

Effie laughed and climbed into the jeep. Maybe certain people weren't physically with them any more, but if the fight with the Beast proved anything, it was that those who had been lost were never really gone. They would always be carried in the minds and hearts of those they loved. And that, Effie smiled at Derek as they started driving. That was something she would always cherish.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

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I may have just topped myself for sappy endings to a season. But after everything Effie went through in season five, it felt like the right way to end things. I don't know yet if there will be an in between story before we start season six. If anything, it'll be a one shot. Probably a smut. With all the drama of this season and the crap I have planned for both parts of next season, we might need a little alone time for our favorite pairing here. Until then, let me know what you think, flame policy stands, thank you so much for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter of Effie Stilinski's life!

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